The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of 4Ps of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DPWH) is making an impact with its aim of breaking the cycle of poverty among poor Filipino families.
Still, supply availability and quality gaps raises questions on the real status of “welfare.”
This was one of the main issues discussed during the latest “Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas” forum held last June 11, where the DSWD Region IV-A office represented by Regional Director Barry Chua and Assistant Regional Director for Operations Myla Gatchalian bared their accomplishments and programs status in the region.
According to DSWD IV-A, they currently have 341, 314 household beneficiaries, and 128,824 households have already graduated.
Throughout the country, 1.5 million less poor Filipinos or an estimated poverty reduction impact of 1.4 percentage points per year based on studies.
The 4Ps offers a conditional cash transfer meaning beneficiaries will receive cash grants and assistance, as long as they meet the department’s condition that it will be for health and education.
Supply and quality issues
However, recent studies from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) called the attention of the government on the “supply-side healthcare and education limitations” that might undermine the impact of 4Ps.
PIDS Senior Research Fellow Michael R.M. Abrigo says that “while the program has successfully incentivized families to engage with essential services, the quality of these services may suffer due to accessibility issues and resource constraints.”
In terms of health, 4Ps have had positive impacts such as increased prenatal visits, child health service utilization, and educational investment but the quality of these services remains to be low.
PIDS claim that only 40 to 50 percent of children in their study sample received all basic immunizations, with less than five percent receiving all age-appropriate vaccines.
“These challenges are further exacerbated by resource constraints among health facilities, hindering their ability to adequately serve 4Ps beneficiaries.” Abrigo added.
Concerning education, the study observed that schools with a higher proportion of 4Ps beneficiaries tend to have higher student-teacher ratios and a lower likelihood of having qualified master teachers.
Students living farther from the school also correlate with reduced school attendance rates with only 60-70 percent of children in their sample consistently attending school.
Step up
Since it seems like DSWD is doing its job, it is up to the health and education sectors namely the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH), and local government units (LGUs) to step up.
“LGUs have a big potential to be true partners in the implementation of 4Ps, fostering greater community understanding and long-term success. They could become champions for the program within communities, ensuring its holistic and sustainable impact,” said Kate Galang-Coseteng of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP).
Abrigo concluded that while the program has been helpful, there is a need to restructure the program’s monitoring and listing protocol and explore program modifications to ensure the delivery of benefits without causing unintended harm to the families.
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