President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has tasked the Department of Social Welfare and Development with creating an index-based system to protect the value of the financial assistance and grants or “ayuda” given to poor Filipinos amid the rising inflation.

In a Palace briefing on Tuesday, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said that while the economic team is working to bring down inflation, it is crucial to safeguard the peso value of government grants like the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps.

“The President tasked us to study how to avoid diminishing or reducing the value of the financial assistance we give to our countrymen,” Gatchalian said.

The DSWD is collaborating with the Philippine Statistics Authority and the National Economic and Development Authority to develop a mechanism that would adjust benefits and grants based on the cost of living or the price of essential goods.

“We understand that the economic team is doing everything to lower inflation, but we also need to protect the peso value of the grants given, especially those for our poorest countrymen,” the DSWD chief explained.

He said the move is in line with the President’s thrust to ensure that social protection programs remain relevant and responsive to the changing needs of the people.

“We want to make sure that the financial assistance, whether it’s 4Ps or any other social protection program, is not left behind if there are spikes like inflation,” Gatchalian said.

“This is crucial to ensuring that the rising prices do not further burden our poorest countrymen,” he added.

He said inflation disproportionately affects the bottom 30 percent of the population. Hence, the DSWD must ensure its grants retain their purchasing power.

‘The 4Ps law sets the minimum amounts, and we won’t go below that,’ he said. ‘The index-based system is about ensuring that the grants remain effective in helping the beneficiaries meet their needs.’

He emphasized that the government will not reduce the current grant amounts. Instead, it will aim to maintain the grants’ real value as inflation fluctuates.

“The 4Ps law sets the minimum amounts, and we won’t go below that,” he said. “The index-based system is about ensuring that the grants remain effective in helping the beneficiaries meet their needs.”

“No, we will never reduce it. It’s more about making sure that its value doesn’t diminish,” he said. “It shouldn’t need permission from anyone to adjust, instead, it should be incorporated into the law, the self-adjusting mechanism.”

Gatchalian did not say, however, if the financial assistance would be increased from the present levels.