De Lima defends 4Ps, says beneficiaries are no freeloaders

House Deputy Minority Leader and ML party-list Rep. Leila de Lima on Monday defended the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) or the conditional cash transfer program, saying that its beneficiaries are no freeloaders.

De Lima, one of the authors of Republic Act 11310, the law that institutionalized 4Ps, issued the statement in response to the suggestion of Senator Erwin Tulfo that the 4Ps should be scrapped and should be replaced by livelihood assistance instead.

The 4Ps program provides cash to poorest households in exchange for complying with conditions promoting human development such as keeping kids in school, attending family development sessions, among others.

“Hindi palamunin ang mga benepisyaryo ng 4Ps. Hindi limos ang programang ito. May mga kondisyon ang programang ito para maipagkaloob sa mga benepisyaryo ang suporta ng gobyerno. Batay ito sa prinsipyo ng shared responsibility – sa pagitan ng pamahalaan at ng bawat pamilyang Pilipino na may hangaring makaahon sa kahirapan,” De Lima said.

(The 4Ps beneficiaries are not freeloaders. The program is not about almsgiving. There are conditions that they should meet to secure the benefit. This is about shared responsibility between the government and the beneficiaries.)

While the program is not perfect, De Lima said that it cannot be resolved with a “burn the whole house down” solution.

“Yes, there are gaps in implementation. Yes, some abuses have been reported. But that’s precisely why we must strengthen, not scrap, the program. The answer is better targeting, better monitoring, and better support systems, not abandoning millions of families who have long relied on this program to survive, recover, and rebuild,” she said.

“Over 1.5 million households have already graduated from poverty under the 4Ps framework, according to the President’s own State of the Nation Address. That is not a failure. That is progress that must be sustained,” she added.

De Lima then said that if any, the 4Ps program should be expanded as provided under her proposed House Bill 1434 which seeks to include adult education, livelihood training, employment facilitation, at entrepreneurship development.

“Our goal here is a sustainable program to alleviate their plight, not just to tide them over,” de Lima said.

“Ito ang hinaharap na gusto nating ihatid: kung saan ang tulong ng gobyerno ay hindi nakakababa ng dignidad, kundi nagbibigay-lakas. Hindi perpekto ang 4Ps. Pero huwag nating sirain ang isang programang may mabuting layunin at malinaw na tagumpay, lalo na’t may mga kongkretong hakbang para mas mapabuti ito,” she added.

(This is the future that we want to achieve: where the government assistance does not degrade dignity but strengthens. 4Ps is not perfect but let us not destroy a program with a noble aim and clear victory, especially if there are concrete ways to improve it.) —AOL, GMA Integrated News