The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office Cordillera Administrative Region (DSWD FO CAR) has started its validation to register new household beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) under its household replacement policy to cover 16,085 households as part of the set 12 target for the Cordillera region.
The registration and validation is part of the DSWD Memorandum Circular No. 12 Series of 2019 to establish the 4Ps’ replacement process to sustain the nationwide target of 4.4 million households registered even with the continuous graduation and exit of beneficiaries, as this is the ceiling of budget allocations indicated in the General Appropriations Act.
From the total regional targets, Mountain Province has the biggest allocation with 4,156 households followed by the province of Abra with 4,031.
The province of Benguet came in third with 2,458 households while Apayao and Ifugao has 2,208 and 1,841 targets, respectively. The province of Kalinga has 1,127 households while Baguio City has the least number of targets in the region with 264 households.
“We would like to reiterate that the new slots of 4Ps beneficiaries are intended to replace those who exited, graduated, and found ineligible from the program and not an expansion of its beneficiaries. We are also ensuring that the new beneficiaries to be included are from the Listahanan 3 database and they must fit with the program’s set of criteria,” DSWD FO CAR Regional Director Leo Quintilla underscored.
4Ps Criteria
Regional Program Division Chief Fatima Florendo pointed out that those poor potential beneficiaries enumerated and identified in the Listahanan will not be automatically included in the 4Ps.
“While we ensure through the validation process that the new households are those eligible poor households from the Listahanan 3, not all identified poor under the list are automatically a 4Ps member. There are additional sets of criteria that the potential households must qualify for,” Florendo said.
The said additional criteria are; the household must also be able and willing to comply with the program conditionalities that include enrolment and attendance of children aged 4-18 in school, deworming of at least twice a year for children aged 6-14, pre and post-natal check-ups for women, preventive check-ups to children aged 5 and below, and attendance to monthly Family Development Session (FDS).
4Ps Validation and Registration Process
The validation and registration of potential household beneficiaries through house to house and/or community assembly is being done simultaneously in all municipalities regionwide. All potential beneficiaries shall undergo a series of validation to ensure that they are qualified to be part of the program.
From among the poor households endorsed by the Listahanan, only those households with children below 18 years old or with pregnant members are subjected to the validation process.
The names of the 4Ps beneficiaries will be posted in public places in their locality. Once these are completed and verified, enrolment will commence for the potential beneficiaries and will be oriented about the program including their responsibility.
After the orientation, they will be asked to sign the Oath of Commitment as a proof that they agree to comply and abide by their roles and responsibilities while in the Program. Only upon signing the oath of commitment shall they be considered as registered Program beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, the Department reiterates that the conduct of validation and registration are free. The DSWD also reminds the public that the agency will not solicit any amount to be included in the 4Ps. The public is encouraged to report suspicious activity in their area through the Program’s grievance text hotline, 09189122813 with the following text format; DSWD<space>4Ps<space>Name<space> Address<space>Message.
The public may also send a message in the Facebook Official Page: https://www.facebook .com/DSWDPantawidPamilya/. The DSWD assured the public that all reports shall be treated with utmost confidentiality and anonymity.
The 4Ps was institutionalized in 2019 by virtue of Republic Act 11310. Under the law, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as the lead implementing agencies shall ensure that the 4Ps beneficiaries will have the capacity to live a decent life and are ready to exit within seven-years as mandated by the law.
As the government’s major poverty alleviation program, 4Ps invests in the health, nutrition, education and psycho-social development of the beneficiaries. These alongside the psychosocial and psycho-educational component provided through the FDS towards improved and sustained well-being. ### DSWD-CAR Social Marketing Unit- Marlo C. Abyado Jr., 4Ps Information Officer
