At least 700,000 households graduated from 4Ps, says DSWD chief

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian said Tuesday that at least 700,000 households already graduated from the government's Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

''As of this date, February 2024, close to 700,000 of the 4.4 have graduated, kasama na diyan iyong mga gumanda iyong antas ng pamumuhay, iyong mga umabot na sa seven-year mark. Pero mayorya doon sa 700,000, mga 65% noon ay upon our evaluation of our social workers, nakita nilang self-sufficient na,'' Gatchalian said in a Palace press briefing.

''Hindi ibig sabihin na puwede na naming bitawan kaya nga nandiyan iyong … Iyan iyong next mechanism for them, na kung bigla na naman magkaroon ng danger vulnerability, programs like the AKAP can prevent them from spiraling down to poverty,'' he added.

Gatchalian also said that President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. has ordered the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and other concerned government agencies to immediately conduct a census through the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) to make the government anti-poverty and social protection initiatives more responsive and effective.

Implemented by the DSWD, the 4Ps is the national poverty reduction strategy of the government as stated under the Republic Act No. 11310 or “An Act institutionalizing Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)” that was signed on April 17, 2019.

Patterned after the conditional cash transfer scheme implemented in other developing countries, the 4Ps provides cash grants to beneficiaries provided that they comply with the set of conditions required by the program.—LDF, GMA Integrated News