Lawmakers, DSWD push reforms to 4Ps law
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is analyzing possible amendments to Republic Act No. 11310 that created the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
Assistant DSWD Secretary Irene Dumlao said at a Malacañang briefing on Friday that the department was studying the amendments because over 1.3 million families are expected to “graduate” from the program next year.
“Families should exit the program not because they’ve reached seven years, but because they’ve achieved self-sufficiency,” Dumlao said.
She stressed that the DSWD wants a “need-based” approach where beneficiaries would only be deemed to have “graduated” from the program if their well-being has actually improved.
Removing beneficiaries from the government’s 4Ps after seven years would put to waste the billions of pesos the government has already spent in the program, she said.
Within the current 4Ps law, beneficiaries may continue in the program for a maximum of seven years, after which they are automatically removed regardless of their economic standing.
Under the proposed amendment, the DSWD will provide an “Aftercare program” for graduating beneficiaries of 4Ps, including toolkits, training, livelihood support and skills training.
“We don’t want families to return to poverty after they exit. That would waste years of investment,” Dumlao said.
At the same time, Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima, who authored RA 11310 when she was a senator, has already filed a measure that would reform the law after 17 years of implementation.
De Lima said issues hounding the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program should be addressed through reforms, not by abolishing the program.
She conceded that the CCT law had implementation gaps, but these gaps cannot be resolved by simply repealing the law.
“Yes, there are gaps in implementation. Yes, some abuses have been reported. But that’s precisely why we must strengthen, not scrap, the program. The answer is better targeting, better monitoring, and better support systems, not abandoning millions of families who have long relied on this program to survive, recover, and rebuild,” she explained.
“Over 1.5 million households have already graduated from poverty under the 4Ps framework, according to the President’s own State of the Nation Address. That is not a failure. That is progress that must be sustained,” she added.
According to De Lima, the concerns of former Social Welfare secretary, now Sen. Erwin Tulfo can be addressed through House Bill No. 1434, or the proposed Expanded 4Ps Act, which she filed. Tulfo himself has conceded that the program is effective, but prone to abuse.
The measure aims to support beneficiaries not only through financial aid but also by providing various training programs to help them prepare for eventual graduation from the program.
She said HB 1434 would expand the support for beneficiaries, not only through financial assistance but also through adult education, livelihood training, employment facilitation and entrepreneurship development.
