Despite the P537.3 billion infused by the government in the 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for cash assistance to extremely poor households, 90 percent of the beneficiaries still live below the poverty threshold.

This was disclosed by the Commission on Audit (COA) in its Performance Audit Report (PAR) entitled "Follow-Up on the Performance Audit on the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program."

Cash assistance under the 4Ps is aimed at improving the health, nutrition, and education of extremely poor families in the country.

But even after being under the program for seven to 13 years, the COA found that 3,820,012 or 90 percent of the 4,262,439 active household-beneficiaries still live below the poverty threshold. These beneficiaries, it said, received a total of P537.39 billion as of June 30, 2021.

It said that the 4Ps Act (Republic Act No. 11310) limits the stay of beneficiaries to seven years.

The law, it said, tasked the DSWD to delist a beneficiary from the program after reaching the end of their seventh year whether or not they were able to go beyond the poverty threshold.

If anything, the COA said, this issue only reinforces its recommendation to "hasten the completion of the National Household Assessment and IT upgrades."

"The Listahanan 3, which should be the latest update of the list of poor households, was delayed by three years and was only launched on Aug. 1, 2022, while the Pantawid Pamilya Information System version 3 or the latest version of the IT system was not yet fully operational," the COA said in its report.

"With the 4Ps Act already in place, by Calendar Year 2026 almost all active beneficiaries will be delisted from the program, hence the Listahanan and the IT systems need to be updated and ensure controls are working effectively to cater to the new beneficiaries," it said.

TAGS: #COA #DSWD #4Ps