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Republic of the Philippines DATE:

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. tive:

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Quezon City By:

REGISTRATION UNIT
BILLS AND INDEX SERVICE

. } HOUSE OF REPE

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO, 2278

Introduced by HON. GUS S. TAMBUNTING

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to enact a policy which institutionalizes the Conditional Cash Transfer
Program in the country by establishing its basic parameters, procedures and mechanisms
for its effective implementation.

In 2007, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) pilot tested
the Conditional Cash Transfer Program in various cities and municipalities with a budget of
Fifty Million Pesos (P50,000,000.00) and in 2008, the said program was renamed Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) by the DSWD through an Administrative Order which laid
down the guidelines for its implementation.

The program seeks to break the inter-generational cycle of poverty by modifying
household behaviors that families may invest in the education of their children and their
overall welfare. It also seeks to address the short-term poverty through direct cash
transfers, as well as long-term poverty by investing in the human capital among the poor
households.

The creation of the 4Ps is heavily influenced by the success of the Conditional Cash
Transfer (CCT) Programs in Latin American countries in the late 1990s. These countries
have experienced poverty reduction through their CCT Programs, an example being the
Bolsa Familia Program of Brazil, which exhibited improved outcomes in children’s education,
family nutrition and household wellness.

The program currently operates in all 17 regions in the Philippines, covering 79
provinces, 143 cities and 1,484 municipalities - with a total of 4,353,597 active household-
beneficiaries.

The Contribution of the 4Ps to poverty reduction cannot go unnoticed. It has changed
the lives of millions of Filipinos and many families are pinning their hopes for a better life in
the said program.

In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bil} is highly and earnestly
recommended.



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. eev8

Introduced by HON. GUS S. TAMBUNTING

AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING 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”.

SECTION 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 of 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.

SECTION 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 to 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 (4Ps);

(C) 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) Poor refers to households whose income falls below the poverty threshold as
defined by the National Economic and Development 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;

(i) 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;

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

SECTION 4. Selection of Qualified Household-Beneficiaries. - On a nationwide basis,
the DSWD shall select qualified household-beneficiaries using a standardized targeting


system. The DSWD shall conduct a revalidation of targeting of beneficiaries every three (3)
years.

SECTION 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.

SECTION 6. Conditional Cash Transfer. - Subject to certain conditions, each qualified
household-beneficiary shall receive a conditional cash transfer equivalent to five hundred
pesos (P500.00) per month for health and nutrition expenses or the equivalent of six
thousand pesos (P6,000.00) 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 (P3,000.00) per a ten (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 ten (10)-month school year; and

(c) 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 ten (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 of availment of the Program.

SECTION 7. Conditions for Entitlement. — Ail qualified household-beneficiaries shall
comply with the following conditions as a requirement for 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 deworming pills at least
twice a year;

(c) Children three (3) to five (5) years old must attend day care or preschool 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) 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;


(g) At least one (1) responsible person must join and complete at least two (2)
government-recognized or accredited nongovernment organization (NGO)-sponsored
entrepreneurship or livelihood training programs;

(h) At least one (1) responsible person must maintain cleanliness in the surroundings
and practice proper garbage disposal;

(i) At least one (1) responsible person must plant trees in the surroundings; and

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

SECTION 8. Noncompliance with Conditions. — The responsible person of a reported
qualified household-beneficiary who fails to comply with the conditions set forth in Section
7 of this Act shall at first be notified in writing. After four (4) months of noncompliance, 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 cancelled.

SECTION 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 bimonthly basis through an authorized
government depository bank duly identified by the DSWD, using different appropriate
payment modes, including cash card, over-the-counter transaction, money remittance
services, conduit rural banks, and cooperatives.

SECTION 10. Periodic Assessment. - The amounts indicated in Section 6 of this Act
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
socioeconomic 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 the DSWD shall ensure that the grant will not serve as disincentive for family
members to work and improve their economic conditions.

SECTION 11. Loan Assistance. — Responsible persons who successfully completed
the entrepreneurship or livelihood programs required under Section 7 of this Act 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.


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

SECTION 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 DSWD 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 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

G) Perform such other functions as may be necessary or incidental to the proper
implementation of the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 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 DepED, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority,
Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Department of the 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 (PCUP), 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.

SECTION 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 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.

SECTION 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 interagency convergence of programs and
services shall be implemented. This shall focus on the enhancement of operational efficiency
and strengthening of interagency partnerships for greater impact and sustainability of
outcomes.

SECTION 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
Appropriations 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.

SECTION 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.

SECTION 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 shall likewise determine inherent weaknesses in the
law and recommend necessary remedial legislation or executive measures.

SECTION 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.

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

SECTION 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.

SECTION 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,