The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) announced Friday that it has secured an additional P5 billion from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to pay cash grants for more than 700,000 reinstated household beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao stated that the additional budget was requested to fund the grants that were temporarily withheld last year. The payments were paused following a reassessment of households using the Social Welfare and Development Indicator (SWDI) Tool.

The funds will primarily cover education grants for the reinstated households, Dumlao said.

“We requested the additional budget to release the cash grants to beneficiaries whose payments were on hold due to re-validation. In 2022, the results of Listahanan 3 indicated that some 4Ps beneficiaries were no longer considered poor. However, the Listahanan 3 survey was conducted in 2019, and the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 impacted many beneficiaries, affecting their level of well-being,” Dumlao explained in Filipino.

Following the release of Listahanan 3 results, the DSWD received numerous requests for reconsideration, prompting the agency to conduct a revalidation using the SWDI tool.

The SWDI assessment, which now serves as the basis for exiting 4Ps household beneficiaries from the program, categorizes households into three levels based on economic sufficiency and social adequacy: survival, subsistence, and self-sufficient. The tool helps identify the interventions needed to achieve self-sufficiency.

“While conducting the revalidation, the release of their cash grants was on hold. But after determining that many 4Ps beneficiaries should remain in the program due to a decline in their well-being, we must release the cash grants that were previously withheld,” Dumlao emphasized.

Dumlao noted that the grants will be retroactive from January to December 2023.

When asked how much each beneficiary would receive, Dumlao said the amount would depend on the number of children being monitored by the program.

“It depends on the number of children being monitored. For example, if three children are being monitored and their education cash grant was put on hold, the amount will vary depending on whether they are in elementary, junior high school, or senior high school,” she explained.

Under the 4Ps program, each household beneficiary receives a health and nutrition grant of P750 per month. The education grant is P300 per month for elementary students, P500 for junior high school students, and P700 for senior high school students, all for 10 months. Additionally, a rice subsidy of P600 per month is provided.

The DSWD expressed gratitude to the DBM for releasing the additional funds.

“With the release of the funds, we are processing the payroll. We anticipate that the top-up will be available on their cash cards within the month,” Dumlao said.

The 4Ps, launched in 2008 and institutionalized in 2019 through Republic Act No. 11310, provides cash grants to 4.4 million households, or 22 million individuals, whose children are supported through subsidies for elementary and senior high school education and health and nutrition grants.