400,000 to 500,000 beneficiaries on waitlist for 4Ps, DSWD says

Around 400,000 to 500,000 beneficiaries are on the waitlist to be included in the government's Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps, the Department of Social Welfare and Development said Saturday.

"Mayroon tayong naka-waitlist na nasa around 400,000 to 500,000. 'Yan 'yung validated na 4Ps beneficiaries," DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said in an interview on Dobol B TV.

(There are around 400,000 to 500,000 on the waitlist. Those are validated 4Ps beneficiaries.)

"Ang annual target natin ay nasa 4.4 million households. Right now, nasa mahigit 2.8 million tayo. We are enrolling additional, batay du'n sa validated na waitlist," she added.

(The annual target [for 4Ps] is 4.4 million households. Right now, we have more than 2.8 million. We are enrolling additional [beneficiaries] based on the validated waitlist.)

Launched in 2008, the 4Ps is the national poverty reduction strategy and human capital investment program that provides conditional cash transfer to poor households for a maximum period of seven years, to improve health, nutrition and education, according to the DSWD.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. however signed Executive order No. 120 last month extending the maximum 7-year participation period for 4Ps beneficiaries.

"Sa batas, nakalagay na ang isang program beneficiary, maaari lamang manatili sa programa for 7 years. Pero in-extend 'yan ng Pangulo kasi nakita na maaaring nag-7 years na sa programa ang isang household beneficiary, pero nasa level 1 at nasa level 2 pa rin," Dumlao said.

(Under the law, a program beneficiary may remain in the program for seven years. But the President extended that because we saw that a household beneficiary may have already been in the program for seven years and yet is still at level 1 or level 2.)

The DSWD official said 4Ps beneficiaries are evaluated by social workers annually to determine what level they are in.

Level 1 is survival, Level 2 is subsistence, and Level 3 is self-sufficient, Dumlao said.

"Mino-monitor natin ang progress ng ating 4Ps beneficiaries using a tool we call social welfare and development indicators (SWDI). Mine-measure natin ang social adequacy and economic sufficiency. Mine-measure natin kung nag-i-improve ba ang level of well-being ng ating mga 4Ps beneficiaries," she said.

(We monitor the progress of our 4Ps beneficiaries using a tool we call social welfare and development indicators. We measure the social adequacy and economic sufficiency. We also measure if our 4Ps beneficiaries' level of well-being improved.)

"Batay du'n sa batas at mga polisiya, kapag naabot mo na ang level 3, candidate ka na for graduation o e-exit ka na sa programa. Pero hindi nangangahulugan na pababayaan ka na ng ating pamahalaan," Dumlao said, adding that those who have "graduated" from the program are turned over to the local government for monitoring and assistance.

(Based on the law and policies, if you have reached level 3, you are a candidate for graduation or may exit the progrm. But that does not mean that the government will no longer look after you.)

"Kaya may tinatawag na pugay-tagumpay, para ma-turnover namin kayo sa local government unit at mabantayan din [at] matiyak na hindi kayo bumalik muli sa kahirapan," she said.

(That is why we have 'pugay-tagumpay' so we can turn you over to the local government who will monitor and ensure you do not go back to poverty.)

Dumlao said when beneficiaries exit the program, slots in 4PS are freed, thus enabling DSWD to enroll those who are on the waitlist.

"Sila naman ang ire-register natin na mga panibagong benepisyaryo ng programa," she said.

(We can then register new beneficiaries in the program.)

Dumlao said the evaluation of beneficiaries using SWDI will be done this second semester of the year.

"Towards the end of the year, makikita natin kung mayroon nang mag-e-exit sa programa," she added.

(Towards the end of the year, we will see if there are some who will exit the program.)

Who are classified as poor? Dumlao said families earning below P13,000 a month are classified as poor.

"'Yung mga pamilya na ang kinikita ay below P13,000 [a month], sila ang naka-classify in the poor," she said.

(Families who earn below P13,000 are classified as poor.)

For 2023, the poverty threshold—the minimum income required for a family to meet the basic food and non-food requirements—was set at a national average of P13,873 per month, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Dumlao said since 2022, more than 1.6 million household beneficiaries have exited from 4Ps.

Marcos recently said that 3.5 household beneficiaries of 4Ps and the Walang Gutom Program will receive a one-time additional assistance of up to P2,000 under the United Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) program, which provides financial assistance to indigent Filipinos affected by rising fuel prices due to the Middle East conflict. —KG, GMA News