GMA widens program for poor

The Arroyo administration increased the number of beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, or 4Ps to one million poor families a month from 700,000 families a month.

The President made the announcement in Lanao del Norte, where she handed cash assistance to family-beneficiaries in the area on Monday. So far, 28,929 households from 317 barangay or villages in 15 municipalities of the province receive regular support under the program.

Also known as the Conditional Cash Transfer Program, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program “works to address the structural inequities in society and promotes the human capital development of the poor, thus working to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty,” officials explained.

The government had originally targeted 300,000 poor families at the start of the program but later increased the number of recipients to 700,000—and now to one million families.

Still not enough

While pleased with the way the program has progressed, President Arroyo said the government could do more.

“There are too many poor families,” the President said. “I am working to extend the benefits of the program to as many as 20 percent of the country’s 4.6 million poor families.”

“That may seem overly ambitious, but during my recent visit to Brazil, I learned that a similar program there has universal coverage,” the President added. “Alleviating poverty throughout the Philippines is my goal and we will use all available resources . . . for that important mission.”

An additional P5 billion has been earmarked for the expanded 4Ps coverage.

On fears raised that the program would only serve to promote a dole-out mentality, the President said the immediate objective was to save the children of the recipient families from the debilitating effects of grinding poverty.

“That alone is a worthy goal,” she argued. “But there is more to this program. We want to give our people a fighting chance to improve their lot, on their own steam.”

Program mechanics

The cash component of the program is P500 a month for each family for health and nutritional needs, plus P300 per child in enrolled school for a maximum of three children for every family.

The 4Ps Conditional Cash Transfer Program is scheduled to run for only five years, but to ensure long-term sustainability of the program from one administration to the next, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago has introduced a bill that would institutionalize it.

The Senate bill and its counterpart legislation in the House of Representatives, President Arroyo said, seek to improve maternal health and reduce child mortality, eliminate extreme hunger and achieve universal primary education.  –Angelo S. Samonte, Reporter, Manila Times