House Minority Leader Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan has rejected proposals to abolish the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), stressing that the conditional cash transfer program is proven to be effective in reducing poverty and improving health and education outcomes in disadvantaged communities.
This came after Senator Erwin Tulfo urged the government to discontinue the program and instead provide livelihood capital to beneficiaries.
“The 4Ps has consistently proven to be a powerful tool for building human capital—encouraging school attendance, promoting preventive health care, and ensuring better nutrition for children,” Libanan, a 4Ps Party-list representative, Libanan said in a statement on Sunday.
“The program works. We just need to give our poorest families a stronger push so they can stand on their own permanently,” he added.
Libanan emphasized that the 4Ps cash grants are not handouts but incentives tied to conditions such as keeping children in school, undergoing regular health check-ups, and attending family development sessions.
Furthermore, the party-lawmaker said while he supports Tulfo’s suggestion for additional livelihood and skills training support for 4Ps households, this should only serve as a complementary measure, not to replace the monthly education, health, and nutrition cash grants given to beneficiaries.
