BAGUIO CITY (PIA) -- The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) continues to bring families out of poverty.

According to Department of Social Welfare and Development 4Ps division chief Fatima Florendo,  of the 53,569
households assessed through the Social Welfare and Development Indicator (SWDI) as of November 30, 2023, 25.78
percent or 14,249 households have already attained self-sufficiency.

A self-sufficient household means it has the means to support and sustain the family’s daily needs.

"Hindi na nila kailangan ng tulong ng programa because they can already stand on their own; they can already avail of the basic health services, basic education at mayroon na silang inisyatibo na, yes kaya na namin without the help of the program,"Florendo said.

[They don’t need assistance from the program anymore because they can already stand on their own; they can already avail of basic health services, basic education, and they already have the initiative to say that yes we can do it without the help of the program.]

Florendo explained that the SWDI is a case management tool which the DSWD uses to assess the progression of the level of well-being of 4Ps household beneficiaries. It is also used to monitor a beneficiary’s improvement from survival to subsistence to self-sufficiency.

The assessment is administered annually to assess if there are changes in the level of well-being of household beneficiaries in all aspects such as socio-economic, health, and economic conditions, among others.

"Doon po namin ibinabase kung ang isang poor household na nasa 4Ps ay puwede na po siyang mag-graduate or mag-exit from the program. Hindi naman po kami nagde-delist unless may nilabag sila sa kasunduan with 4Ps," Florendo stated.
 
Meanwhile, 39,300 households or 71.10%   are at the subsistence level, or they could barely meet the basic living necessities with income and capacity enough to purchase the basic food needs.

Subsistence also means that there is no excess income to use for emergency funds nor can it be spared as savings, or assistance is needed for better employment or an extra livelihood for additional income.

There are 20 households (0.04 percent) at the level of survival, or the poorest of the poor, with no income or means to sustain their basic needs on a daily basis.

Survival level means that cash assistance is needed as much as assistance for future employment, along with free access to health care facilities and free education.

As of December 31, 2023, a total of 56,309 households in the Cordillera were served under the 4Ps. Most of the beneficiaries are in Abra with 13,062. Baguio City has the least number of beneficiaries with 2,209.

Based on the monitoring of the compliance of beneficiaries with the program conditions, 96.62 percent are compliant in terms of education, 97.74 percent with health, and 91.13 percent with the attendance of parents to family development sessions.

A flagship poverty alleviation program of the government, the 4Ps provides conditional cash assistance to indigent households, to improve the health, nutrition, and the education of children aged 0-18. (JDP/DEG-PIA CAR)