House leader pushes bill to hike 4Ps cash grants

House minority leader Marcelino Libanan urged his colleagues to fast-track the approval of the bill raising 4Ps cash grants to offset the rising costs of living expenses in the country.

Libanan said that House Bill 120 would adjust cash grants to realistic levels, as the existing amount offered was no longer sufficient to fund the beneficiaries’ education, health, and nutrition needs.

“We need to strengthen the 4Ps so that it can truly help families break free from poverty. With inflation steadily driving up the cost of food and other essentials, the current cash grants have become too small to make a meaningful difference in the daily lives of poor households,” Libanan said.

Under the bill, children enrolled in daycare and elementary school would receive at least P500 per month for a maximum of 10 months, while each child enrolled in junior high school would receive P900 per month for a maximum of 10 months.

Senior high school students will receive at least P900 a month for a maximum of 10 months.

The 4Ps health grant will also be increased to a maximum of P1,800 a month for a maximum of 12 months, while a new “food and nutrition” grant of at least P600 a month will be provided for a maximum of 12 months.

Earlier, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) rejected calls to abolish the 4Ps cash grants to fund business capital.

ML party-list Rep. Leila de Lima also defended the program,  saying its beneficiaries were not freeloaders, but that they were following certain conditions in exchange for their benefits.

“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.

(This is about shared responsibility between the government and the beneficiaries.)

She noted that while the program is not perfect, the solution to issues on the 4Ps grants should not “burn the whole house down.”

DSWD had also recently rolled out a First 1,000 Days (F1KD) program, which aims to support the early development of children during their critical period of growth. —Jiselle Anne C. Casucian/LDF, GMA Integrated News