THE DEPARTMENT of Social Welfare and Development in Western Visayas recently disclosed that Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries that have become self-sufficient – those that could now provide for themselves without government assistance – would be removed from the poverty alleviation program and replaced with those that need support.
Considering the many issues hounding the program, the department’s move is most welcome Remember the worrisome finding of the Commission on Audit (COA) a few months ago? Over P10 billion in 4Ps funds were unliquidated. Clearly, the government needs to fine-tune the program’s targeting (of beneficiaries) mechanism, among others, plugging the leaks in the process.
We are still learning, obviously. Remember, 4Ps is an attempt to replicate Bolsa Familia, Brazil’s successful social welfare program. COA’s findings show we still have a lot to learn to perfect the program.
In fact, as early as 2015, the state-owned think-tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) urged the government to “deepen” rather than expand the coverage of 4Ps after finding out in a study that the program was suffering from a 29-percent leakage rate. This meant that roughly three in every 10 of the beneficiaries were not poor and did not even deserve to be part of the program! In a report that year, COA also prodded the government to suspend the expansion of its flagship poverty alleviation program until the leakages are plugged.
Despite these recommendations, however, 4Ps still saw rapid expansion under the Aquino administration in its attempt to boost the “mass registration” of the program.
Aside from the leakage issues, the government should also revisit the program’s implementation cost. There were reports 4Ps’ cost is higher than Bolsa Familia’s. In the 2015 study, PIDS noted the “significant share” of 4Ps’ administration cost, amounting to as much as P4 billion in 2011. Such amount can already support 266,667 families with three eligible children for one year, according to the think-tank.
COA’s audit finding shows the 4Ps needs serious cleaning up.
