The government has freed up P15 billion to use on other poor Filipino families after the Department of Social Welfare and Development trimmed the list of beneficiaries of its cash assistance program by 1.3 million families, a Cabinet meeting Tuesday revealed.
The DSWD is validating the list of 1.3 million beneficiaries from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps who are no longer considered “poor,” Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said.
Angeles said Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo made the report before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the 3rd Cabinet meeting held at the Aguinaldo Hall in Malacañang Palace.
“Of note is Sec. Erwin Tulfo’s declaration that in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program, at least 1.3 million beneficiaries out of 4.4 million are no longer considered ‘poor’ as a qualification for the 4Ps benefits,” Angeles said.
“This frees up P15 billion for other qualified persons to replace them and now be included in the 4Ps program,” the Press Secretary added.
Tulfo earlier said families without eligible household members or who have already met the self-sufficient stage would be delisted from the 4Ps program.
The vacated slots will be given to new beneficiaries as many applicants are on the waiting list, he had told Teleradyo.
The 4Ps is a human development measure of the national government that provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor, to improve the health, nutrition, and education of children aged 0-18.
It is patterned after the conditional cash transfer (CCT) schemes in Latin American and African countries, which have lifted millions of people around the world from poverty.
The DSWD is the lead government agency of the 4Ps.
Marcos Jr. presided over his third Cabinet meeting on Tuesday after holding the second one virtually as he recovered from his second bout of COVID-19.
The meeting yesterday focused on the DSWD and the Department of Education. The President asked how he should address Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, who also serves as DepEd secretary.
“How do I address you? VP-Secretary? Secretary-VP?” Marcos asked.
“Inday Sara, sir,” Duterte-Carpio, daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, said in response, drawing laughter from the other Cabinet members.
A statement released by the Palace said the DepEd had discussed their priority programs and projects for basic education, while the DSWD presented their plans for social welfare.
The video stream, uploaded on the social media pages of the Radio-Television Malacañang, was cut before substantial portions of the meeting began.
The 4Ps also help the Philippine government fulfill its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)—specifically in eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality, and improving maternal health care.
The 4Ps operate in all the 17 regions in the Philippines, covering 79 provinces, 143 cities, and 1,484 municipalities.
Beneficiaries are selected through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), which identifies who and where the poor are in the country.