PANTAWID PAMILYANG PILIPINO PROGRAM

ADVANTAGE OF THE 4 P's

The “CCT programs address both future poverty, by fostering human capital
accumulation among the young as a means of breaking the intergenerational transmission of
poverty and current poverty, by providing income support for consumption in the short run”.
Indeed, the main objective of the 4Ps and other CCT programs is to prevent inter-generational
transference of poverty and help break the infinite cycle of poverty by providing the children
the suitable educational and health assistance so as to help them develop the facilities for a
better future. Investing in children’s human capital and ensuring that they grow into educated
and healthy adults, is the equivalent of teaching them how to fish. Healthy, educated children
ultimately have more choices in life and are able to become productive members of society.

Furthermore, the implementation of the 4Ps lessens the incidence of child labor and
other forms of child abuse. In cases of the other CCT programs implemented in other
countries, there are two interrelated mechanisms found to help combat child labor. First,
through their cash subsidy component, schooling’s directs costs are reduced, thereby inducing
families to send their children to school, as opposed to work. Second, these programs require
families to have their children attend school, 85% of the school days per month in the case of
the 4Ps, in exchange to cash subsidy. This requirement increases the time children spend in
school and reduces the time they can allocate to work. There is a noticeable increase in the
number of enrollees in many elementary schools in areas included in the scope of the 4Ps, and
kindergarten classes were being established to answer the need of the community in
compliance to the condition of sending 0-5 years old children in day care centers and
preschools. Subsequently, if collaborative compliance to this requirement of the 4Ps is
ensured, the literacy rate of the children is also expected to increase.

In the long run, the 4Ps as well as the other CCT programs, aims to establish social
equality and mobility through education. Poverty-reduction policies stems from the belief that
education is a powerful equalizer and the main asset of most people. Accordingly, people are
poor not just because of a lack of economic resources to satisfy basic needs, but also because
they live in a social, economic and political system which does not provide equality of
opportunities. The 4Ps intend to provide the basis for this much needed equality by providing
the poor people with the education that they could not access otherwise.

Malnutrition, which is prevalent among extremely poor families, is also expected to

decrease. Since it is a prime requirement for beneficiaries to avail of the health services being
offered in their health centers such as pre- and post-natal services, vaccination, and periodical
check-ups before acquiring their money grants, the health and nutrition of the poor families
are safeguarded.
 The 4Ps also promotes gender empowerment seeing as the responsibility of managing
the cash grants are given to the mother. This decision is based on the experience in CCT
programs showing that women make relatively better use of grant money by using it to
purchase food and/or other necessities such asmedicines, transportation and school supplies.
In the nutshell, the underlying concept of the CCT programs, and of the 4Ps as wells, is: once
individuals are healthy, better fed, and educated, they will be able to overcome poverty in the
long run.

DISADVANTAGE OF THE 4 P's

Like any other government program, the 4Ps also have its disadvantages that may
encumber its helpful benefits. One of the most crucial characteristic of the 4Ps and other CCT
programs implemented in other countries is its being a ‘demand-side’ intervention instead of
being a ‘supply-side’ intervention. That is, in order to be considered as a beneficiary of the
program, one must concede with the government’s demands and conditionalities. This is
remarkably notable in the conditions concerning education and health services where the
beneficiaries being brought into the education and health services system instead of
expanding the education and health systems in order to reach them.

Furthermore, as previously mentioned, poverty in the country is not only caused by the
lack of economical resources, but also because of socio-economic and political factors that
prevent the equality and distribution of resources. Although the 4Ps aims to provide the poor
with the education which is, otherwise, inaccessible, it does not directly answer the socio-
economic and political problems that are the primary cause of poverty. In the case of the 4Ps
in the Philippines, it does not answer the issues regarding the political and economic elite
families. And poverty can only be totally alleviated if there are programs that could target its
roots.

The 4Ps will also encounter some difficulties in achieving support from the other social
classes, mainly because it does not benefit middle-income groups which have also been
steadily affected by limited universal services and decreases in employment. These middle-
income groups are also suffering from issues of poverty and limited access to educational and
health benefits, but are not included in the target population of the 4Ps. The 4Ps is
programmed to help only the extremely poor.

Another major disadvantage of the 4Ps implementation is that it requires a huge

amount of finance which we do not have at the present. The 4Ps is a loan driven program,
much of the funds constituting the conditional cash grants given to beneficiaries are
generated from loans abroad, particularly from the United States. By the tail-end of August
2010, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a US$400 million loan specifically for the
4Ps which will run from 2011 to 2014. This comprises 45.2 per cent of the total cost of
US$884.2 million, where US$484 million serves as the government’s counterpart. Having
ADB’s US$400 million in addition to the World Bank’s US$405 million, makes two-thirds of
the whole 4Ps from 2009 to 2014 comprised of loans (Somera, 2010, p. 6). Arguments against
the 4Ps point out that despite the large amounts of financial resources needed to implement
the program; it does not generate guaranteed returns to the economy as much as
infrastructure projects like construction of roads, bridges, and railways do.

GROUP COMMENTARY
The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Programs poses many appealing objectives, goals
and benefits for the poor families that comprises most of the Philippine’s population. The 4Ps
is a good example of strengthening the government’s capability of distributing the country’s
resources to those who are extremely in need. It is undeniable that there are many poor
households that will benefit from the said program, and that the program covers the basic
needs that otherwise would go unmet. Likewise, the government’s effort in making the
country’s educational and health services system inclusive is a huge step towards social
mobility and equality. The researchers feel strongly about the 4Ps’ principle that well-fed and
educated citizens are imperative for a productive country and society.

However, it is also undeniable that the 4Ps, as well as the other CCT programs being
implemented in other countries, is not the perfect solution. There are many insufficiencies that
the program might face in the long run of its implementation. And as a new policy here in the
Philippines, the 4Ps will certainly need further revisions and studies in the
future.Nevertheless, the researchers believe that for any government program to succeed, the
government and the citizens must arrive in a peaceful consensus. The government’s duty is to
secure that the people’s needs are provided and their rights are protected. And the citizens, in
return, must use their full capacity to be productive and help the country. The researchers
believe that the implementation of the 4Ps is a good example of the concurring responsibilities
of the government and the citizens.