Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No.__ 207

Introduced by Representative MICAELA S. VIOLAGO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Poverty — now afflicting a quarter of the more than 100 million Filipinos,
remains to be the most critical socio-economic problem. To keep poverty at a
minimum level, if not to eradicate it altogether, our government continue to formulate
and design sustainable and comprehensive programs which will ensure the delivery
of appropriate and sufficient basic services to the people such as food security,
educational, and health care services among others.

One such program is the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) also
known as the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program. The 4Ps is a flagship and
anti poverty program of the government, patterned after the Latin American
Conditional Cash Transfer Program, that grants conditional cash subsidy to the
poorest households in the country to improve their health, nutrition and education.
The conditionalities of the grant are primarily for the parents to send their children to
school and to health care centers on a regular basis.

In assessing conditional cash transfers in Latin America, a World Bank panel
of economists in 2009 noted a substantial decline in poverty incidence in program
participants as well as the encouragement of good health and education practices
among the family. The same have been observed among the pilot beneficiaries of
the 4Ps program.

This bill aims to to institutionalize the implementation of the program by
providing for the statutory authority therefor, ensure continuous funding and lay down
the basic parameters for the determination of target-beneficiaries and conditions for
their compliance.

This bill, except for the provision on inclusion of indigent senior citizens in the
target beneficiaries, was approved on Third Reading at the House of
Representatives in the 16th Congress on February 1, 2016.

The early passage of this bill is strongly recommended.



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

. 207
House Bill No.

Introduced by Representative MICAELA S. VIOLAGO

AN ACT
INSTUTIONALIZING THE PANTAWID PAMILYANG PILIPINO PROGRAM (4Ps) TO
REDUCE POVERTY AND PROMOTE HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AND
PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Act”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State recognizes the need to
‘strengthen the solidarity of the family and actively promote its total development.

The State further recognizes its obligation to promote a just and dynamic
social order that will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free
the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services,
promote full employment, a rising standard or living, and an improved quality of life
for all.

The State furthermore recognizes the need to protect the poor; thus, the State
hereby declares it a policy to:

a. provide assistance to the poor to alleviate their immediate needs;

b. break the intergenerational cycle of poverty through investment in human
capital and improved delivery of basic services to the poor, particularly
education, health and nutrition;

c. promote gender equality and empowerment of women;
d. achieve universal primary education;
e. reduce child mortality; and

f. improve maternal health.


SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act.

a. Case Management refers to a process used by the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD) to enable the household-beneficiaries
improve their functioning by dealing with their difficulties specifically in complying
with the conditionalities of the program;

b. Compliance Verification refers to the checking and monitoring done to
ensure that the qualified household-beneficiaries comply with conditions for
entitlement set forth by the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program;

¢. Conditional Cash Grant refers to the amount being received by the
qualified household-beneficiaries who comply with the conditions for entitlement;

d. Extremely Poor refers to households, duly identified by the standardized
targeting system, whose income falls short of enabling them to provide even just
their nutritional requirements;

e. Grantee refers to the most responsible adult member of the qualified
household-beneficiary authorized to receive the conditional cash transfer;

f. Grievance Redress System refers to the mechanism of the DSWD which
addresses and resolves issues and concerns related to the implementation of the
Program;

g. Health Facility refers to a barangay health station, rural health unit or
primary hospital;

h. Health Service Providers refer to barangay health workers, barangay
nutrition scholars and midwives;

i. Poorrefers to households whose income falls below the poverty threshold
as defined by the National Economic Authority (NEDA) and cannot afford in a
sustained manner to provide their minimum basic needs of food, health,
education, housing and other essential amenities of life, including indigent senior
citizens as referred to under Republic Act No. 9994 or Expanded Senior Citizens
Act of 2010;

j. Preventive Health Check Up refers to health services comprising of
complete immunization, deworming, weight monitoring and management of
childhood diseases;

k. Program refers to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) which
is the national poverty reduction strategy that provides conditional cash transfer
to poor households to improve their health, nutrition and education;

|. Qualified Household-Beneficiaries refer to households identified by the
DSWD for entitlement of the monthly conditional cash grant;

m. Responsible Person refers to the parent or guardian in the qualified
household-beneficiary; and

n. Standardized Targeting System refers to a system for identifying who and
where the poor households are through the generation of socio-economic


database of poor households that is adopted by national government agencies
and implemented by the DSWD.

SEC. 4. Selection of Qualified Household-Beneficiaries. - On a nation-
wide basis, the Department shall select qualified household-beneficiaries using a
standardized targeting system. The DSWD shalll conduct a revalidation of targeting of
beneficiaries every three (3) years.

SEC. 5. Local Verification Committee. — A Local Verification Committee
shall be created in every municipality or city composed of two (2) local government
unit representatives, an accredited health-service provider from the barangay, a
representative of an accredited civil society organization, and the school head as
designated by the Department of Education (DepEd).

The Committee shall be tasked to ensure that the initial list of beneficiaries
satisfies the eligibility requirements set forth under this Act.

SEC. 6. Conditional Cash Transfer. — Subject to certain conditions, each
qualified household-beneficiary shalll receive a conditional cash transfer equivalent to
Five hundred pesos (Ph P500.00) per month for health and nutrition expenses or the
equivalent of Six thousand pesos (PhP6,000.00) per qualified household-beneficiary
per year.

A maximum of three (3) children per qualified household-beneficiary shall be
given conditional cash grants for educational expenses:

a. Three hundred Pesos (P300.00) per month per child enrolled in
elementary or the equivalent of Three thousand pesos (PhP3,000.00) per a 10-
month school year;

b. Five hundred Pesos (P500.00) per month per child enrolled in junior
high school or the equivalent of Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) per a 10-
month school year; and

. Seven Hundred Pesos (P700.00) per month per child enrolled in senior
high school or the equivalent of Seven thousand pesos (P7,000.00) per a 10-
month school year.

A supplementary education grant of Three hundred pesos (P300.00) per
month shall be given to the child in elementary or high school who has
maintained passing grades in all subjects after the second year or availment of
the program

A longevity grant of Five hundred pesos (P500.00) per month for health
expenses or the equivalent of Six thousand pesos (PhP6,000.00) per year shall
be given to an indigent senior citizen per qualified household-beneficiary, in
addition to the social pension provided under Republic Act No. 9994 or the
Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010.

SEC. 7. Conditions for Entitlement. — All qualified household-beneficiaries
shall comply with the following conditions as a requirement or continued program
eligibility:


a. children zero (0) to five (5) years old must receive regular preventive
health check-ups and vaccinations;

b. children six (6) to thirteen (13) years old must avail of de-worming pills
at least twice a year,

c. children three (3) to five (5) years old must attend day care or pre-
school classes at least eighty-five percent (85%) of the time;

d. children must attend elementary or high school classes at least eighty-
five percent (85%) of the time;

e. pregnant women must avail of pre and post natal care and give birth
with the assistance of a skilled or trained health care professional in a health
facility;

f. indigent senior citizens must undergo check-ups at least twice a year in
a health facility and must not smoke, drink alcohol or take illegal drugs of any
sort;

g. at least one (1) responsible person must attend family development

sessions and natural family planning sessions conducted by the DSWD, at least
once a month;

h. atleast one (1) responsible person must join and complete at least two
(2) government recognized or accredited NGO-sponsored entrepreneurship or
livelihood training programs;

i. at least one (1) responsible person must maintain cleanliness in the
surroundings and practice proper garbage disposal;

j at least one (1) responsible person must plant trees in the
surroundings; and

k. at least one (1) responsible person must assist, help or participate in
bayanihan projects in their respective barangay or municipality.

SEC. 8. Non-Compliance with Conditions. — The responsible person of a
reported qualified household-beneficiary who fails to comply with the conditions set
forth in Section 7 shall at first be notified in writing. After four (4) months of non-
compliance, the household-beneficiary shall be subject to case management. If
despite the case management, the qualified household-beneficiary continues with
noncompliance, the benefits under this Act may be suspended.

Should the qualified household-beneficiary so notified persist in not complying
with the conditions within a period of one (1) year, the conditional cash grant shall be
canceled.

SEC. 9. Mode of Cash Transfer. — The conditional cash transfer shall be
made by the DSWD. The conditional cash grant shall be received by the grantee or
any of the grantee’s duly authorized representative on a bi-monthly basis through an
authorized government depository bank duly identified by the DWSD, using different
appropriate payment modes, including cash card, over-the-counter transaction,
money remittance services, conduit rural banks, and cooperatives.


SEC. 10. Periodic Assessment. — The amounts indicated in Section 6 shall
be made available to the qualified household-beneficiaries during the first two (2)
years of the implementation of this Act and reasonable adjustments may thereafter
be made by the President, if necessary, upon recommendation by the DSWD, after
taking into account the rates of inflation and similar economic indicators.

The grant rates may be adjusted by the DSWD if warranted by the changes in
the socio-economic conditions existing at the time. The DSWD shall ensure that the
grant rates are sufficient to make a positive impact on the health, nutrition and
education of grantees: provided, that DSWD shall ensure that the grant will not serve
as disincentive for family members to work and improve their economic conditions.

SEC. 11. Loan Assistance. — Responsible persons who successfully
completed the entrepreneurship or livelihood programs required under Section 7
may be given loan assistance as their initial capital by the appropriate government
agency that will implement relevant programs pursuant to Section 16 of this Act.

SEC. 12. Five-Year Maximum Limit. - Each qualified household-beneficiary
shall receive the conditional cash grant for a maximum period of five (5) years.

SEC. 13. Lead Agency. - The DSWD shall serve as the central planning,
coordinating, implementing and monitoring body of the program.

In the implementation of this Act, the Department shall have the following
functions:

a. select and use an appropriate, effective and cost efficient method devised
for the purpose of identifying and selecting qualified household-beneficiaries;

b. identify and select the target household-beneficiaries on the basis of a
uniform, objective and transparent selection process;

c. conduct seminar-workshops and training programs in order to ensure
qualified household-beneficiary awareness of the conditions and other actions
pertinent to this Act.

d. coordinate with different national and local agencies, _including
organizations from the private sector to ensure full implementation of statutory
commitments herein;

e. set up monitoring and evaluation systems and methodologies on
compliance of conditions, implementation of operations, and output and impact
of assessments. It shall also coordinate with the Advisory and Monitoring
committees at the national, regional and municipal levels to verify compliance
‘once a month using the monitoring and evaluation systems designed for the
purpose;

f. recommend to the President measures and policies for the responsive
delivery of the commitments under this Act;

g. coordinate with different national and local agencies to maintain and
update objective poverty maps which will be checked and cross-checked
periodically for duplications and inaccurate or erroneous information;


h. formulate implementing rules and guidelines for the enforcement of this
Act;

i, submit an annual report to Congress including, but not limited to, all
aspects of its operations, financial status and other relevant data; and

j. perform such other functions as may be necessary or incidental to the
proper implementation of the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 14. Advisory Council. — An Advisory Council shall be created at the
municipal, regional and national levels to be headed by the DSWD and may be
composed of representatives from the Department of Education, Technical Education
and Skills Development Authority, Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance
Corporation, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Trade and
Industry, Department of Labor and Employment, National Anti-Poverty Commission,
the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, the local government unit
concerned, and accredited NGOs, as members.

The Advisory Council is principally tasked to monitor and assess actions and
activities relative to the implementation of the program. It shall also serve as a
Grievance Committee tasked to accept complaints and grievances that may arise
within their respective territorial jurisdictions, conduct investigation in specific cases
and dispose cases filed in connection thereto, using the Grievance Redress System.

SEC. 15. Independent Monitoring Committee. - An Independent Monitoring
Committee at the municipal, regional and national level composed of representatives
from the private sector and Civil Society Organizations (CSO) shall be created.

The Independent Monitoring Committee is principally tasked to complement
the monitoring activities of the DSWD and provide feedback thereto for proper
action. It shall submit a report on the results of its monitoring activities relative to the
implementation of the program to the Advisory Council.

SEC 16. Convergence of Programs and Services. - To ensure that the
targeted household-beneficiaries remain non-poor after the prescribed maximum
limit for receipt of the conditional cash grant, multi-stakeholder and inter-agency
convergence of programs and services shall be implemented. This shall focus on the
enhancement of operational efficiency and strengthening of inter-agency
partnerships for greater impact and sustainability of outcomes.

SEC. 17. Appropriations. - The amount necessary to carry out the provisions
of this Act shall be charged against those authorized in the current and subsequent
General Appropriation Acts.

The appropriation shall continue until the program has covered sixty percent
(60%) of the total number of extremely poor families in the Philippines, as may be
determined by the Philippine Statistics Authority at the time of the enactment of this,
Act. The appropriation shall be included in the annual appropriation of the DSWD.

SEC. 18. Penalty. - Any person, public or private, whether or not acting in
conspiracy with public officials, who, by act or omission, inserts or allows the
insertion of data or false information, or who diverts from what ought to be contained
in the registry, with the view of altering the fact, or aiding in the grant of the money to


persons other than the qualified household-beneficiaries, shall be penalized with
imprisonment of not less than one (1) month but not more than six (6) months, or a
fine of not less than Ten thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) but not more than Twenty
thousand Pesos (P20,000.00), or both imprisonment and fine, at the discretion of the
court.

Administrative sanctions shall be imposed without prejudice to prosecution in
the proper courts.

SEC. 19. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee. — Upon the effectivity
of this Act, a congressional oversight committee, hereafter to be referred to as the
4Ps Committee, is hereby constituted. The 4Ps Committee shall be composed of
fourteen (14) members with the chairpersons of the Committee on Poverty
Alleviation of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Social Justice,
Welfare and Rural Development of the Senate and six (6) additional members from
each House, to be designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
the Senate President, respectively. This Committee is principally tasked to set the
overall framework to monitor and ensure the proper implementation of this Act. It will
likewise determine inherent weaknesses in the law and recommend necessary
remedial legislation or executive measures

SEC. 20. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within six (6) months
from the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of Social Welfare and Development
shall, in coordination with appropriate government departments and agencies, with
the participation of the local government units, promulgate the necessary rules and
regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 21. Separability Clause. — If any provision or part of this Act is held
unconstitutional or invalid, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall remain
in full force and effect.

SEC. 22. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance,
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary
to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, is hereby repealed, modified, or
amended accordingly.

SEC. 23. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,