MANILA – Department of Social Welfare (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Tuesday ordered the reassessment of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries to improve the program’s implementation.
Gatchalian specifically directed that the reassessment be focused on beneficiaries who were tagged as “non-poor” by Listahanan 3, the standardized targeting system used by the program.
The DSWD, the Secretary said, will use the Social Welfare and Development Indicator (SWDI) tool to assess and monitor the level of living conditions of the 4Ps households.
This indicator tool, he said is being used by the DSWD as a case management tool to determine the progress of the households, by measuring the level of their well-being in terms of economic sufficiency and social adequacy.
Beneficiaries who will be assessed as “self-sufficient” will be subjected to the 4Ps graduation process and will officially exit the program through Pugay-Tagumpay, Gatchalian pointed out.
Based on the set of indicators in terms of economic sufficiency and social adequacy, households are categorized under three levels — Level 1, survival; Level 2, subsistence; and Level 3, self-sufficient.
The result of the tool aids the program in identifying the interventions needed by the family in order to achieve the so-called self-sufficiency.
While SWDI is being administered, the DSWD secretary encouraged the concerned 4Ps beneficiaries to continue complying with the conditions of the program “not just for the cash grants but for the benefit of their children and family as well.”
“The conditions include sending and keeping their school-aged children in school, regular and preventive check-ups for children aged 5 years and below, pre and post-natal care for mothers, and attendance to the monthly Family Development Sessions, among others,” he stressed.
The secretary assured the graduating 4Ps households of the Department’s continued support, as well as assistance from their respective local government units (LGUs), which shall provide other interventions and services after graduation so they could sustain their level of well-being. (PNA)