Kareena Ameenah A.

Basman
Legal Writing – B

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)

The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is a human development measure of the
national government that provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor, to
improve the health, nutrition, and the education of children aged 0-18. It is patterned after
the conditional cash transfer (CCT) schemes in Latin American and African countries,
which have lifted millions of people around the world from poverty.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is the lead government
agency of the 4Ps.

The 4Ps operates in all the 17 regions in the Philippines, covering 79 provinces, 143

cities, and 1,484 municipalities. Beneficiaries are selected through the National

Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), which identifies who

and where the poor are in the country.

The 4Ps is more than a welfare program. It addresses inequality and inequity

in the society. This program also promotes human capital development of

the poor—putting a stop to the intergenerational cycle of poverty. As

embodied in our Constitution, The State shall promote a just and dynamic social

order that will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the people

from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full

employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all.

There should be a strict screening of the qualified benefeciaries of this program.

Challenges in DSWD are faced when it was discovered that some beneficiaries do not

actually meet the qualifications and in fact, faking it.