Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Act

April 17, 2019

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11310

AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING THE PANTAWID PAMILYANG PILIPINO PROGRAM (4Ps)

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the "Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Act."

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policies. — The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order thereby uplifting its citizens and marginalized sectors from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all.

The State recognizes the need to foster social justice as provided for in Article XIII of the 1987 Constitution, as follows:

(a) The Congress shall give highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all the people to human dignity, reduce social, economic, and political inequalities, and remove cultural inequities by equitably diffusing wealth and political power for the common good;

(b) The promotion of social justice shall include the commitment to create economic opportunities based on freedom of initiative and self-reliance;

 Towards this end, the State shall establish programs that invest and harness our country's human capital and improvement of delivery of basic services to the poor, particularly education, health and nutrition, which is an intervention anticipated to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.

(c) Break the intergenerational cycle of poverty through investment in human capital and improved delivery of basic services to the poor, particularly education, health, nutrition, and early childhood care and development;

(d) Promote gender equality and empowerment of women and children's rights;

(e) Achieve universal primary education;

(f) Reduce child mortality and malnutrition;

(g) Improve maternal health; and

(h) Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act, the following terms are defined, as follows:

(a) Authorized Government Depository Banks refer to banking institutions accredited and managed by government which is also categorized as government-owned and -controlled corporation (GOCC) or government financial institution;

(b) Case Management refers to a process used by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to enable the household-beneficiaries to improve their functioning by dealing with their difficulties specifically in complying with the terms of the program;

(c) Compliance Verification refers to the checking and monitoring undertaken to ensure that the qualified household-beneficiaries comply with conditions for entitlement set forth by the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps);

(d) Conditional Cash Grant refers to the amount received by the qualified household-beneficiaries who comply with the conditions for entitlement; CAIHTE

(e) Grantee refers to the most responsible adult member of the qualified household-beneficiary authorized to receive the conditional cash transfer;

(f) Grievance Redress System refers to the mechanism of the DSWD which addresses and resolves issues and concerns related to the implementation of the Program;

(g) Health Facility refers to a barangay health station, rural health unit, barangay health center, infirmary or hospital;

(h) Institutionalization refers to making the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) an added function of the DSWD and a regular program funded from its annual appropriation;

(i) Poor refers to households whose income falls below the poverty threshold as defined by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and cannot afford in a sustained manner to provide their minimum basic needs of food, health, education, housing and other essential amenities of life;

(j) Preventive Health Check-up refers to health and nutrition services comprising of complete immunization, deworming, growth and development monitoring, management of childhood diseases; malnutrition, and services for pregnant, lactating and post-partum women;

(k) Qualified Household-Beneficiaries refer to households identified by the DSWD for entitlement to the monthly conditional cash grants as provided under Section 6 of this Act;

(l) Responsible Person refers to the parent or guardian in the qualified household-beneficiary;

(m) Standardized Targeting System refers to a system for identifying who and where the poor households are through the generation of socioeconomic database of poor households that is adopted by national government agencies and implemented by the DSWD; and

(n) Sustainable Livelihood Program refers to the livelihood and capability building program managed by the DSWD for the poor, vulnerable and marginalized families and individuals to help improve their socioeconomic conditions. The one-time livelihood assistance is in the form of microenterprise development (MD) and employment facilitation (EF). The MD track provides microenterprise interventions to the poor or savings generation while the EF track provides interventions that facilitate employment.

SECTION 4. The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). — The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is the national poverty reduction strategy and a human capital investment program that provides conditional cash transfer to poor households for a maximum period of seven (7) years, to improve the health, nutrition and education aspect of their lives. The National Advisory Council (NAC) may recommend a longer period under exceptional circumstances.

SECTION 5. Selection of Qualified Household-Beneficiaries. — On a nationwide basis, the DSWD shall select qualified household-beneficiaries of the 4Ps using a standardized targeting system. It shall conduct a regular revalidation of beneficiary targeting every three (3) years.

SECTION 6. Eligible Beneficiaries. — Farmers, fisherfolks, homeless families, indigenous peoples, those in the informal settler sector and those in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas including those in areas without electricity shall be automatically included in the standardized targeting system to be conducted by the DSWD: Provided, That to be eligible for the cash grants, households or families must meet the following criteria:

(a) Classified as poor and near-poor based on the Standardized Targeting System and the poverty threshold issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) at the time of selection;

(b) Have members who are aged zero (0) to eighteen (18) years old or have members who are pregnant at the time of registration; and

(c) Willing to comply with the conditions specified by this Act.

SECTION 7. Conditional Cash Transfer to Beneficiaries. — The Advisory Council shall determine the amount of conditional cash transfer to beneficiaries with the following schemes:

(a) Conditional cash transfer grant per child enrolled in day care and elementary programs shall not be lower than Three hundred pesos (P300.00) per month per child for a maximum of ten (10) months per year;

(b) Conditional cash transfer grant per child enrolled in junior high school shall not be lower than Five hundred pesos (P500.00) per month per child for a maximum of ten (10) months per year;

(c) Conditional cash transfer grant per child enrolled in senior high school shall not be lower than Seven hundred pesos (P700.00) per month per child for a maximum of ten (10) months per year; and

(d) Health and nutrition grant shall not be lower than Seven hundred fifty pesos (P750.00) per month for a maximum of twelve (12) months per year.

The health/nutrition grant component aims to promote healthy practices and family development, improve the health nutritional status of pregnant and post-partum mothers, infants and young children, and increase the use of health services by the household-beneficiary. The health grant is a fixed amount and does not depend on the number of members in the household.

SECTION 8. Coverage in the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP). — All beneficiaries of 4Ps as identified by the standardized targeting system to be qualified household-beneficiaries of the 4Ps shall automatically be covered in the NHIP. The necessary funding for their coverage shall be sourced from revenue generated pursuant to Republic Act No. 10351, otherwise known as the "Sin Tax Reform Act of 2012."

SECTION 9. Mode of Cash Transfer. — The DSWD shall provide beneficiaries with direct and secured access to cash grants through any number of Authorized Government Depository Banks (AGDBs). For localities not adequately served by an AGDB, the DSWD may, by itself or through an AGDB, contract the services of rural banks, thrift banks, cooperative banks, and institutions engaged in money remittances duly accredited by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

SECTION 10. Periodic Assessment. — Every three (3) years after the effectivity of this Act, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) shall conduct an impact assessment to evaluate the effectiveness of the 4Ps, the veracity of the list of household-beneficiaries and the program implementation.

The amounts indicated in Section 7 of this Act shall be made available to the qualified household-beneficiaries during the first three (3) years of the implementation of this Act: Provided, That every six (6) years after the effectivity of this Act, the PIDS shall recommend to the NAC whether the cash grants shall be adjusted to its present value using the consumer price index, as published by the PSA: Provided, further, That the NAC shall ensure that the grant amounts are sufficient to make a positive impact on the health, nutrition, and education of the beneficiaries and are timely received and spent by the beneficiaries. DETACa

SECTION 11. Conditions for Entitlement. — All qualified household-beneficiaries shall comply with all of the following conditions as a requirement for continued program eligibility:

(a) Pregnant women must avail of pre-natal services, give birth in a health facility attended by a skilled health professional, and receive post-partum care and post-natal care for her newborn;

(b) Children zero (0) to five (5) years old must receive regular preventive health and nutrition services including check-ups and vaccinations;

(c) Children one (1) to fourteen (14) years old must avail of deworming pills at least twice a year;

(d) Children three (3) to four (4) years old must attend day care or pre-school classes at least eighty-five percent (85%) of their time;

(e) Children five (5) to eighteen (18) years old must attend elementary or secondary classes at least eighty-five percent (85%) of their time; and

(f) At least one (1) responsible person must attend family development sessions conducted by the DSWD, at least once a month.

Any or all of the conditions for entitlement may be suspended by the DSWD Secretary during times of calamities, war and armed conflicts.

SECTION 12. Noncompliance with Conditions. — The responsible person of a reported qualified household-beneficiary who fails to comply with conditions set forth in Section 11 of this Act shall at first be notified in writing and the payment of cash grants will immediately be terminated. After four (4) months of noncompliance, the household-beneficiary shall be subject to case management process of DSWD.

Should the qualified household-beneficiary so notified persist in not complying with the conditions within a period of one (1) year since the day of receipt of the written notification, the household-beneficiary shall be removed from the program.

SECTION 13. Livelihood Interventions. — Qualified household-beneficiaries shall be given priority in the availment of the modalities and interventions under DSWD's Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) or other appropriate or similar programs offered by other government agencies or accredited private institutions.

The household-beneficiary shall also be given priority in the availment of the employment facilitation services provided by the SLP or other employment programs of appropriate government agencies implementing the same.

SECTION 14. Lead Agency. — The DSWD shall serve as the central planning, coordinating, implementing and monitoring body of the Program.

In the implementation of this Act, the DSWD shall perform the following functions:

(a) Select and use an appropriate, effective and cost-efficient method to identify and select qualified household-beneficiaries;

(b) Identify and select the target household-beneficiaries on the basis of a uniform, objective and transparent selection process as indicated in Section 5 of this Act;

(c) Coordinate with different national and local government agencies, including organizations from the private sector to ensure full implementation of statutory commitments herein;

(d) Set up participatory monitoring and evaluation systems and methodologies on compliance of conditions, implementation of operations, and output and impact assessments. It shall also coordinate with the NAC and with the Independent Monitoring Committee at the national and local levels, to verify compliance on a monthly basis, using the monitoring and evaluation systems designed for the purpose;

(e) Recommend to the NAC measures and policies for the responsive delivery of the commitments under this Act;

(f) Identify the coverage of the 4Ps based on the Standardized Targeting System;

(g) Provide the seminar-workshops and training programs to educate qualified household-beneficiaries about the conditions and other actions pertinent to this Act;

(h) Organize a session on entrepreneurship and disaster preparedness and risk reduction or arrange a community development activity in the qualified household-beneficiaries' respective barangay or municipality or city whichever is available annually;

(i) Submit an annual report to Congress on all aspects of its operations, financial status and other relevant data;

(j) Formulate implementing rules and guidelines for the enforcement of this Act; and

(k) Perform such other functions as may be necessary or incidental to the proper implementation of the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 15. Advisory Council. — An Advisory Council shall be created at the regional and national levels to be headed by the DSWD. aDSIHc

The regional advisory councils and NAC shall have, as members, representatives from the DSWD, Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). The regional advisory councils and NAC shall also have, as additional members, two (2) representatives from accredited nongovernmental organizations working or monitoring social welfare service programs.

The Advisory Councils shall have the following functions:

(a) Meet regularly to promote coordination across agencies to enhance the implementation of the program and jointly address and resolve program implementation issues;

(b) Recommend to the President measures and policies for the responsive delivery of the commitments under this Act and integration with the general poverty reduction strategy of government;

(c) Ensure that the funding requirements for livelihood, training and employment facilitation programs shall be included in the annual budgets of the government agencies implementing the same;

(d) Promulgate a grievance redress system and accept complaints and grievances pertaining to the implementation of the 4Ps; and

(e) Review the monitoring and assessment reports of the Independent Monitoring Committee and submit necessary policy recommendations to Congress to improve and strengthen the program, if necessary.

SECTION 16. Independent Monitoring Committee. — An Independent Monitoring Committee shall be created at the regional, and national levels, composed of representatives from the private sector and civil society organizations (CSOs) to complement the monitoring activities of the DSWD and provide feedback for appropriate action. It shall submit a report on the results of its monitoring activities relative to the implementation of the program to the respective regional advisory councils and the NAC.

SECTION 17. Regular Monitoring. — The DSWD shall monitor the implementation of the program and report its status at least once every three (3) years in order to ensure the attainment of the goals enumerated in Section 2 of this Act to the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines.

SECTION 18. Report of the Program. — The DSWD shall annually publish a full report of the 4Ps covering the implementation of the previous fiscal year. The said report shall include financial disclosures, number of households included in the 4Ps, and recommendations to the Advisory Council, the President and to both chambers of Congress on how to further enhance it. This report shall be submitted to Congress before the submission of the President's Budget Message.

SECTION 19. Convergence of Programs and Services. — Within the framework of a national poverty alleviation strategy and a holistic social protection program, the various agencies of government implementing multi-stakeholder programs and services for the poor shall guarantee that the same complement and converge seamlessly with the aim of ensuring that the targeted household-beneficiaries are alleviated from poverty and remain non-poor even after the prescribed maximum period for the conditional cash grant. Such convergence shall focus on the enhancement of operational efficiency and strengthening of inter-agency partnership. The government shall monitor the performance of these agencies to ensure the sustainability and positive impact of its pro-poor programs.

SECTION 20. Program Transparency. — The DSWD shall regularly and timely post and update on its website a report of financial disclosures and information about beneficiaries based on geographical area, social, economic and cultural circumstances.

SECTION 21. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee. — Upon the effectivity of this Act, a Congressional Oversight Committee, hereafter referred to as the 4Ps Oversight Committee is hereby constituted. This Committee shall set the overall framework to review the implementation of this Act. It shall likewise determine inherent weaknesses in the law and recommend necessary remedial legislation or executive measures.

The 4Ps Oversight Committee shall be composed of fourteen (14) members with the chairpersons of the Committee on Poverty Alleviation of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development of the Senate as Co-Chairpersons; and six (6) members from each House, to be designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Senate President, respectively.

For purposes of determining remedial legislation, the 4Ps Oversight Committee shall, within three (3) years after the effectivity of this Act, conduct a sunset review which shall include a systematic evaluation of the impact of this Act, accomplishments of the program, and the performance of its implementing agencies.

SECTION 22. Appropriations. — The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be charged against those authorized in the current and subsequent General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 23. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of the DSWD shall, in coordination with appropriate government departments and agencies with the participation of the local government units, promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 24. Penalties. — Any person, whether or not acting in conspiracy with public officials, who, by act or omission, inserts or allows the insertion of data or false information, or who diverts from what ought to be contained in the registry, with the view of altering the fact, or aiding in the grant of the money to persons other than the qualified household-beneficiaries, shall be penalized with imprisonment of not less than one (1) month but not more than one (1) year, or a fine of not less than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) but not more than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) or both imprisonment and fine, at the discretion of the court. A public official who commits any of the acts provided herein shall be penalized with temporary disqualification to hold public office. Administrative sanctions shall be imposed without prejudice to prosecution in the proper courts.

SECTION 25. Separability Clause. — Should any provision of this Act be found unconstitutional by a court of law, such provision shall be severed from the remainder of this Act, and such action shall not affect the enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Act.

SECTION 26. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, letters of instruction, resolutions, orders or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, modified or amended accordingly. ETHIDa

SECTION 27. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

Approved: April 17, 2019.

 

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 115, No. 25, p. 6060 on June 24, 2019.