1.24M families may be removed as 4Ps beneficiaries this year

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Thursday that it wants to expedite the removal of beneficiaries who have already attained a “self-sufficiency” level under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to make room for eligible families waiting to be admitted to the government’s antipoverty flagship program.

In a media forum, director Gemma Gabuya of the 4Ps National Program Management Office said that “data cleansing should be continuous” to ensure that only deserving beneficiaries were retained or reinstated to the 4Ps program.

“We are expected to remove 1.24 million [self-sufficient] beneficiaries by 2024, so that’s a challenge for us,” she added.

According to her, families that have reached level three, or “self-sufficiency,” are those that “have the means to support and sustain the needs of their family members.”

This means they have “income and social adequacy … they can contribute to [mandatory pension contributions] … they are capable of having three meals a day, and no one is under or malnourished,” Gabuya said.

Level two is “subsistence,” while “survival” is the entry level. Last year, the DSWD revised its monitoring system to track families’ progress under the antipoverty program.

From the previous three-year assessment period, it streamlined the process to be able to conduct it annually.

Citing “limited funds,” DSWD spokesperson Romel Lopez said that “adding waitlisted [beneficiaries] remains a challenge.”

“But with the yearly validation, we’re expecting that we will be able to fast-track … the entry of those on the waitlist,” he added. Under the new “Social Welfare and Development Indicators” system, at least 793,414 families have been returned to the program.

Another 190,000 families, on the other hand, are on the agency’s waitlist, Gabuya said. They have already been validated and will be immediately accepted once slots open.

The figure is projected to increase further as the DSWD continues validating more potential beneficiaries, she noted.

As of this month, around 4.2 million households are enrolled in the antipoverty program. Qualified for cash grants are “poor and near-poor” families that either have a pregnant mother or children younger than 18 years old.

Also eligible are farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, informal settlers, homeless families, and those living in far-flung areas, although they must also meet the program criteria.

Among the monthly benefits given to beneficiaries are educational assistance ranging from P300 to 700, depending on the child’s grade level; as well as medical assistance worth P750.Those admitted to the program may receive cash grants for only up to seven years, Gabuya said.