Govt wants wider cash transfer program

THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is recommending the expansion of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program to benefit more poor Filipino households.

“We are recommending the expansion of the CCT program because based on the definition of poverty there are about five million poor households,” acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Augusto Santos told reporters on Wednesday.

He added that the additional four million households that would be added to the program would cost the government about P40 billion every year.

Currently, Santos said the government is spending around P10 billion per year for one million poor households or P10,000 per household.

The CCT Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) provides poor households P500 a month for health and nutrition needs and an additional P300 per child in school, for a maximum of three children per family.

Santos said the 4Ps program has a large economic and social impact because the subsidy is directed at the poor households.

He added that the government should stop providing ineffective subsidies.

The government is asking a $400-million loan from the Asian Development Bank to fund the Social Protection Support Project formerly known as the Conditional Cash Transfers Support Project.

The proposed project will assist the government in implementing its development strategy and social reform program by supporting the expansion and implementation of the national household targeting system for poverty reduction and the 4Ps.

The support has significant potential for further leveraging key improvements in the Philippines’ social protection portfolio, including improved targeting of beneficiaries, reduced leakage and improved rationalization and consolidation of existing programs.

Earlier, the World Bank granted the Philippines $405-million financing to support the country’s Social Welfare Reform Agenda Project to reduce poverty and improve health and education outcomes in 376,000 households in the poorest provinces and municipalities. –DARWIN G. AMOJELAR Senior Reporter, Manila Times