Over 760K recipients stay on 4Ps list

DEPARTMENT of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Undersecretary Eduardo Punay said on Wednesday that 761,150 households will remain on the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiary list.

The updated list of households remaining under 4Ps is the result of an evaluation of beneficiaries directed by Social Welfare Secretary Rexlon «Rex» Gatchalian.

«This means they will not graduate; they will continue to benefit from the program. Because of the assessment, our department saw that they are still non-poor and still need assistance,» Punay said.

«They will be retained in the 4Ps program. The reason found by the department for this is the impact of the pandemic,» he added.

Over 760,000 families were among the 1.1 million previously identified as non-poor under the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction Listahanan 3.

Around 339,660 families were classified as Level 3 or self-sufficient among the 1.1 million recipients and are recommended for graduation or exit from the program.

«What we do here with our graduations is, we endorse them to local government units, and we also provide them with various assistance or programs such as the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) to still help them as they exit from the 4Ps program,» Punay said.

The 4Ps is the government's nationwide poverty reduction plan and human capital investment program that offer conditional cash transfers to qualified household recipients.

It is a human development program that operates with concerned agencies, local government units, and other stakeholders to improve the health and nutrition, education, and socioeconomic aspects of the beneficiaries' lives.