Beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) who were in “limbo” for nine months have reason to smile and have a very happy Christmas this year, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
DSWD Assistant Secretary for Strategic Communications Romel Lopez said the payout of cash grants to some 761,140 4Ps beneficiaries will resume on November 30.
“The department will resume the payout for the withheld health grants– from January to September 2023– starting on November 30; and it will be non-compliance based while the education grants for the same period shall be based on the compliance of the beneficiaries and
will be processed starting February 2024,” Lopez said.
Lopez added that aside from the cash grants, the eligible beneficiaries will also receive their rice subsidy.
The DSWD has withheld the cash grants of the subject 4Ps members following the revalidation undertaken by the 4Ps National Project Management Office (NPMO) to determine household beneficiaries who are no longer poor or non-poor.
Based on the directive of DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, Lopez said the 4Ps NPMO was able to complete the reassessment of the 1,158,249 households previously identified as non-poor using the Social Welfare and Development Indicators (SWDI) tool.
Based on the assessment, some 4,242 households were found to be in Level 1 or Survival Level; 756,898 households in Level 2 or Subsistence Level; and 339,660 households in Level 3 or Self-Sufficient.
“The reassessed households belonging to Levels 1 and 2 have been retained in the list of beneficiaries while those in the Level 3 will undergo the exit process,” the DSWD spokesperson pointed out.
The retroactive payout of the reassessed qualified households is covered by a signed memorandum by Secretary Gatchalian titled “Guidance on the Processing of Unpaid Grants to Qualified 759,041 4Ps Household-Beneficiaries for the Period January 2023-September 2023.”
The 4Ps is a human development program which provides social protection, social assistance, social development, and other complementary support services in partnership with concerned agencies, LGUs and other stakeholders toward improving the health and nutrition, education, and socio-economic aspects of Filipino households in need.
