The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved the creation of 4,265 positions for different field offices of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
In a statement on Monday, May 13, the DBM said that Project Development Officer II (PDO II) contractual positions were created to ease the workload of DSWD staff.
The position’s responsibility will mainly focus on aiding the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) who will directly interact with beneficiaries, it said.
“Supporting the 4Ps is crucial in inclusive development, empowering families, and breaking the cycle of poverty in the Philippines. With this move, we are also generating employment opportunities, which in some ways help stabilize our economy,” Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said.
Currently, the 4Ps program has covered close to four million household beneficiaries across 41,676 barangays in the entire country.
This is around 90.3 percent of the 4.4 million target households, based on the FY 2023 report of the DSWD.
The DBM has previously authorized the creation of 12,637 positions in implementing the 4Ps, wherein 5,291 positions served as case managers in aiding the 4Ps beneficiaries.
Funds for the creation of said 4,265 PDO II positions shall be charged against the available allotment of the DSWD, whereas the funding requirement will be sourced from the available appropriations in the FY 2024 General Appropriations Act in case of deficiency in funding.
For this year, a total of P106.335 billion has been allocated to the 4Ps program, which is larger compared to the P102.610 billion from the previous year under the 2023 GAA.
The said allocation covers health subsidies amounting to P750 and P600 per month as rice subsidies for 4.4 million households. It also covers educational subsidies ranging from P300 to 700 per month for over 7 million students.