MANILA – The Marcos administration is asking Congress to allot a total of PHP112.8 billion for the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) which will benefit about 4.4 million eligible households in 2024.
The proposal was contained in the 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP) earlier transmitted to Congress, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said in a statement on Wednesday.
DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the proposed allocation for 4Ps is higher by PHP10.23 billion compared to the PHP102.61 billion budget appropriated under the 2023 General Appropriations Act.
Some PHP103.161 billion of the proposed PHP112.8 billion would be earmarked for various cash grants such as the monthly health subsidy worth PHP750 each for 4.4 million households, educational subsidy ranging from PHP300 to PHP700 per month for over 7 million students, and monthly rice subsidy worth PHP600 each for 4.4 million families.
“The recommended budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 shows an increase of PHP3.725 billion when compared with the actual utilization of PHP109.111 billion in Fiscal Year 2022,” Pangandaman said.
“The rise is due to the increased number of students, moving from 1.493 million senior high school (SHS) students in FY 2023 to an anticipated 1.628 million SHS students in FY 2024, who will be provided with an educational allowance,” she added.
The 4Ps, a human development program of the DSWD, provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor families to improve the health, nutrition, and education of children aged 0 to 18.
Beneficiaries are identified through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction.
Under Republic Act (RA) 11315 enacted in April 2019, a Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) was adopted to generate updated data necessary for targeting beneficiaries, more comprehensive poverty analysis, and interventions and monitoring impact over time.
The Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 of the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. aims to achieve economic and social transformation through job creation and poverty reduction.
In his Budget Message, Marcos recognized the ongoing struggle of many Filipinos, particularly the most vulnerable, with the persistent, harsh effects of the pandemic, despite the World Health Organization’s lifting of the global emergency status for Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019).
“To address this, I have approved the NEDA’s [National Economic and Development Authority] recommendation for the Social Protection Floor framework, which aims to institutionalize the existing social protection programs, such as the universal healthcare and feeding programs and the Conditional Cash Transfer Program, which holds a crucial role in the government’s comprehensive strategy to alleviate poverty and promote social development,” Marcos said. (PNA)
