Those persistently non-compliant beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), be warned.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has announced that the new guidelines have been issued regarding the removal of persistently non-compliant 4Ps beneficiaries.
It said the approved National Advisory Council (NAC) Resolution 1 series of 2021 has been released. The resolution calls for the adoption of the guidelines for the removal of persistently non-compliant 4Ps recipients in adherence to the Republic Act 11310 or 4Ps Act.
“The corresponding guidelines provide safeguards to support the persistently non-compliant household beneficiaries resolve the barriers impairing them from complying the program conditions. A beneficiary found to be non-compliant will be subjected to case management where appropriate steps to resolve the problem of non-compliance will be acted upon by the beneficiary himself guided by the case manager,” the DSWD said in a statement.
It said the guidelines will be implemented during the first period covering the month of February and March of the Compliance Verification/Payment Cycle for 2021.
Section 12 of 4Ps Act states that “should the qualified household-beneficiary so notified persist in not complying with the conditions within a period of one year since the day of receipt of the written notification, the household-beneficiary shall be removed from the program”.
The DSWD said under the resolution, non-compliant household beneficiaries will be given one-year to prove that they are willing to comply with the program conditions.
"Through the case management process, the beneficiary undergo a transformative process as he/she is guided through new information and ways, evaluate past ideas beliefs and understanding which through critical reflection leads to change of perception. The beneficiaries must first give prime value to their membership to the program and understanding the conditions to be complied, including valuing their health and gaining education,” it said.
The social welfare agency said the beneficiaries’ non-compliance can be resolved by addressing the root cause of the problem.
"For education, it is usually the eagerness to earn and contribute to the family income which is usually not enough. The beneficiary can be provided access to alternative learning modalities offered by DepEd (Department of Education),” it said.
Citing the program impact evaluations, the DSWD noted that high school graduates have higher earning opportunities than those who did not graduate high school, and much more if they will be able to graduate college.
"On a case to case basis, the compliance problem must be addressed directly. The case management process outcome will subsequently keep them on track and remain in the program after the appropriate case management intervention.”
"The resolution will be auspicious for the beneficiaries considering that non-compliant household beneficiaries will not be immediately terminated and removed, but instead will be given one-year evaluation period to prove that they are willing to comply with the conditions of the program,” the DSWD pointed out.
Since 2008, the Pantawid Pamilya has invested in human capital development and in the health and education of poor households, particularly of children aged 0 to18 years old.
4Ps uses the conditional cash transfer scheme to provide cash grants to the beneficiaries who comply with the following program conditions:
-Children 3 to 18 years old must be enrolled in kindergarten, elementary, and high school, and attend classes at least 85 percent of the time each month;
-Children 0-5 years old must receive regular preventive health check-ups, growth monitoring, and vaccines;
-Pregnant women get pre and post-natal care (must be attended by skilled/professional health workers);
-Children in elementary must receive de-worming pills twice a year; and
-Attendance of the grantee/parent/guardian to the monthly Family Development Session (FDS).
Under the program, cash grants are given to poor households for a maximum of seven years, to improve the health, education, and nutrition aspect of their lives.
"The program also aims to empower the beneficiaries and provide them access to available services, opportunities, value education, be mainstreamed as financial community,” the DSWD said.