Beneficiaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) are assured of continued support from the government after they have exited from the program, an agency official said on Tuesday (July 1).
“Even if the 4Ps beneficiaries already graduate or exit from the program, patuloy po natin silang i-a-assist through other interventions,” Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao, the DSWD’s spokesperson, said during the National Press Club’s (NPC) Meet the Press in Intramuros, Manila.
Asst. Secretary Dumlao explained to reporters that before exiting the program, 4Ps household-beneficiaries are assessed based on the Social Welfare and Development Indicators (SWDI) to determine their level of well-being.
The SWDI assessment is being used as the basis for the exit of the 4Ps members is based on the National Advisory Council (NAC) Resolution No. 1 series of 2023 and which was operationalized by the DSWD through the issuance of Memorandum Circular No. 19 series of 2023.
“Taon-taon po nating isinasagawa ‘yan para ma-measure natin ‘yong level of wellbeing ng mga 4Ps beneficiaries natin. Kapag nakita po kasi natin nag improve na ‘yong level of wellbeing, nasa level three na po sila ng self-sufficient, pwede na po silang mag exit from the program,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao told members of the media.
For the update on the household-beneficiaries that have been reinstated in 2024, the DSWD spokesperson said their retroactive payments were already distributed and that they are continuously being monitored by their city/municipal links for their monthly compliance in order to receive their grants.
The reinstatement of the more than 700,000 household-beneficiaries was made as a result of the SWDI assessment following several requests for reconsideration from 4Ps members following the Listahanan 3 came in 2022.
To help exiting 4Ps members sustain their self-sufficiency status, the DSWD is collaborating with other government agencies and partners to help them access other programs and services.
One of the activities mentioned by Asst. Secretary Dumlao was the holding of the ‘Trabaho sa Bagong Pilipinas para sa 4Ps’ job fairs.
“We collaborated with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), para magsagawa ng jobs fair para nga po sa ating mga [exiting] 4Ps beneficiaries. Ang objective po nyan, ay para again, masustain ‘yong investment po ng ating gobyerno sa atin pong mga 4Ps beneficiaries at matiyak na magpapatuloy ‘yong movement ng kanilang level of wellbeing at hindi na po bumalik sa kahirapan. Sa pamamagitan ng pagtitiyak na meron po silang trabaho even after exiting from the program,” the DSWD spokesperson said. (AKDL)