Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan and 4Ps Partylist Rep. Jonathan Abalos II filed a House Resolution which seeks to increase cash grants to meet the needs of the households under 4Ps amidst the inflation in the country.
House Minority leader Marcelino Libanan and colleague, 4Ps party-list Rep. Jonathan Clement Abalos II filed House Resolution 184 pushing for larger cash grants to households under the government’s flagship Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) amid rising food insecurity among poor families because of inflation.
The Covid-19 pandemic has left a big scar on all Filipinos, especially those who are growing up in poverty. The destruction of jobs and income has caused food inflation aside from the Russia-Ukraine war which threatens energy inflation, especially for those who are driving for a living.
“We would urge the government to quickly expand the coverage of the 4Ps to include a greater number of beneficiaries, and to augment the cash aid that they are receiving,” Business Mirror quoted Libanan .
“Marginal households with no cushion against economic shocks are falling back into survival, and are now extremely vulnerable to hunger,” he added.
4Ps cash grants
Within the proposed 2023 national budget, the government intends to spend P105.4 billion next year to provide 4Ps cash awards, excluding the costs of human services and spot inspections, administrative expenses, bank service fees, and other incidental overheads.
“We need bigger funding to put more families in the program, and to pay them higher cash grants,” Libanan stressed, especially with these rising food prices.
Currently, 4.021 million household beneficiaries are enrolled in the 4Ps which targets the chronically poor families with children ages 0-14 years old.
These beneficiaries currently receives P500 per month for health and nutrition expenses, and P300 per month per child for 10 months for educational expenses with a maximum of three children per household allowed.
Percentages
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the country’s poverty incidence increased to 18.1 percent in 2021, equating to approximately 20 million poor Filipinos whose per capita income is insufficient to meet their basic food and non-food needs.
Additionally, 12.2 percent of Filipinos, or an estimated 3.1 million families experienced hunger in the first quarter of 2022 according to a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations.
After climbing to 6.4 percent year on year in July, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects inflation to peak in September or October, with prices of consumer goods and services continuing to reflect the weight of expensive petroleum products and a weak peso.
Tags: #inflation, #4Ps, #IncreasedCashGrants, #Poverty