The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) has improved education, health, and employment outcomes among poor Filipino families, but the government needs to strengthen the country’s flagship conditional cash transfer (CCT) program by linking beneficiaries to jobs, skills training, as well as financial services to ensure lasting economic mobility, according to the World Bank.

In its Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Households Welfare Monitoring Survey document disclosed last Tuesday, Aug. 4, the Washington-based multilateral lender found that although 4Ps has strengthened human capital, many households remain economically vulnerable even after graduating from the program.

The report found that former 4Ps beneficiaries generally exhibited stronger economic outcomes than current beneficiaries as well as comparable low-income nonbeneficiaries, as they were more likely to have multiple income earners and higher reported household incomes.

Former beneficiaries also showed stronger upward income mobility, with a greater share earning more than ₱150,000 annually and a lower concentration in the lowest income brackets than other surveyed households. Still, the World Bank noted that most households continued to earn below the poverty threshold, while 87 percent reported that their income remained insufficient to cover living expenses.

The report likewise found that 4Ps participation was associated with higher spending on education and better educational attainment among younger Filipinos.

Among individuals aged 19 to 24, 53 percent of former beneficiaries had attained a bachelor’s degree, compared with 31 percent among nonbeneficiaries. Young adults from 4Ps households were also more likely to remain enrolled in school, particularly women, suggesting greater access to postsecondary education, scholarships, and training opportunities.

Although 4Ps was not designed as an employment program, the World Bank said participation was also associated with better labor market outcomes.

Adults aged 31 to 45 from current and former beneficiary households were more likely to be employed than comparable nonbeneficiaries, while former beneficiaries were more likely to hold permanent jobs. Among youth aged 19 to 30, those exposed to 4Ps were also more likely to remain in school and secure permanent employment than their nonbeneficiary peers.

The World Bank also highlighted improved outcomes for women.

According to the report, women from current as well as former beneficiary households were almost twice as likely to be employed as women from nonbeneficiary households and were more likely to hold permanent jobs, indicating that the program supports women’s economic inclusion alongside continued education.

On health, the report found that 4Ps households were more likely to use preventive health services, including child growth monitoring, while current and former beneficiaries were less likely to reduce meal portions during periods of financial hardship.

However, it noted that although immunization rates remained high across all groups, the findings did not establish a clear or consistent association between program participation and immunization outcomes.

The World Bank said the findings broadly align with previous evaluations showing that 4Ps has strengthened schooling outcomes as well as human capital accumulation, but cautioned that better employment and income outcomes ultimately depend on broader labor market conditions, economic opportunities, as well as the quality of education and skills development systems.

It also noted that graduating from the program does not necessarily guarantee sustained economic self-sufficiency, as many former beneficiaries continue to face financial constraints despite retaining advantages in education and preventive health behaviors.

To strengthen 4Ps, the World Bank recommended expanding gender-responsive interventions that would encourage greater labor force participation among women through flexible skills training, accessible childcare, digital skills development, and livelihood opportunities.

It also urged the government to better integrate 4Ps with nutrition initiatives, including Walang Gutom 2027 as well as programs of the departments of Health (DOH) and of Agriculture (DA), while considering inflation-linked adjustments to cash grants to help families cope with rising living costs.

The report further recommended strengthening education-to-employment pathways by linking beneficiaries to Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) training, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) services, entrepreneurship support, as well as Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) microenterprise programs to improve employability as well as long-term livelihoods.

Also, the World Bank urged the government to connect beneficiaries to savings and social insurance programs like state-run pension fund Social Security System’s (SSS) AlkanSSSya scheme, while enhancing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems through regular household surveys, better data integration, as well as stronger interoperability across government agencies to improve targeting as well as program effectiveness.