The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Monday, June 9 welcomed the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showing fewer families identifying as poor in April, saying it confirms the government’s anti-poverty programs are on the right track.

DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao called the results a “good” indicator of the effectiveness of the government programs.

“This also shows the effectiveness of the 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) insofar as helping the poor attain the level of self-sufficiency while providing them with the necessary interventions to ensure that they will not slide back to poverty,” Dumlao said.

4Ps is the national government’s flagship program aimed at breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty by providing education and health grants to household-beneficiaries, who are required to attend monthly family development sessions.

Dumlao also credited the Marcos Administration’s whole-of-nation approach to poverty alleviation for gaining momentum, which further contributed to the positive shift.

She noted that another factor in the decline is the prompt disaster response efforts.

“Disasters exacerbate poverty. So if their needs are immediately provided during typhoons, floods, and other calamities, the impact on the poor is cushioned and we prevent them from becoming poorer,” she explained.

The SWS survey, conducted from April 23 to 28, found that 50 percent of Filipino families, or around 14.1 million households, considered themselves poor.

This is a five-point decrease from the 55 percent (approximately 15.5 million families) recorded in the previous survey conducted from April 11 to 15.

As of April 30, a total of 860,471 household-beneficiaries have graduated from the 4Ps after reaching improved levels of well-being.

These families were deemed self-sufficient based on social welfare and development Indicators, making them eligible to exit the program upon or before reaching the seven-year maximum stay.