Marcos extends 4Ps aid beyond 7-year limit for qualified beneficiaries

Qualified Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) will continue to receive cash aid beyond the maximum seven-year limit if they remain classified under specific conditions. This, after President Marcos signed Executive No. 120, extending the maximum seven-year period for qualified 4Ps beneficiaries. Under the order signed on July 13, qualified 4Ps beneficiaries whose eligibility to program benefits under Republic Act No. 11310 or 4Ps Act will cease after the seven-year period “shall continue to be qualified as 4Ps beneficiaries and receive program benefits beyond such period.” They will continue to receive 4Ps aid “as long as they remain classified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as Level 1 (survival) or Level 2 (subsistence) under the Social Welfare and Development Indicator (SWDI) tool.” In signing the EO, Marcos emphasized the need to ensure that 4Ps beneficiaries affected by exceptional circumstances continue to receive adequate support under the program until they achieve the level of self-sufficiency under the 4Ps Act. It was an approval of the recommendation submitted by the National Advisory Council (NAC) for a longer period under exceptional circumstances. The council, through a resolution, recommended to the President the extension, recognizing that the exceptional circumstances brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic “severely disrupted household incomes, reversed developmental gains, heightened beneficiary vulnerability, and limited ability of affected beneficiaries to fully realize the intended outcomes of the program within the seven-year period.” The DSWD was directed to adopt a strengthened case management system using the enhanced SWDI tool or other tools the agency may deem necessary to assess the well-being and readiness of 4Ps beneficiaries for graduation. Under the EO, the DSWD shall formulate and issue the guidelines for the order’s implementation, including the identification and validation of qualified 4Ps beneficiaries within 30 days from the EO’s effectivity. The department shall also conduct periodic assessments, the implementation of strengthened case management interventions, and the determination of beneficiaries continued eligibility and readiness for graduation. According to the EO, the funding requirements for the implementation shall be charged against the current and available budget of the DSWD.