HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:

RECEIVED
SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE )

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES —_ )
First Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.No._1948

RECISTRATION UNIT
BRLS ANU INDEX SERVICE

Introduced by Representative VILMA SANTOS-RECTO
6" District of Batangas

AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING A CONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFER PROGRAM,
PROVIDING FOR THE AUTOMATIC INDEXATION OF CASH GRANTS AND FOR,
OTHER PURPOSES

Explanatory Note

‘The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), a form of conditional cash transfer
(CCT), is now on its 8" year of implementation. Operating in 17 regions in the Philippines,
spanning 79 provinces, 143 cities, and 1,484 municipalities, the number of families who benefit
from the said program has now reached 4,436,732; including 10,888,887 school children aged 0
to 18.!

The program provides financial support to poor families, on condition that there will be
investments in the education and health of children aged 0 to 18. It has been the mission of the
government that with the help of 4Ps, children of beneficiary families will be provided with the
necessary faculties that will help them break free from intergenerational poverty—keeping their
health in check and their education unhampered by forced employment to help augment what
little income their parents earn.

Findings from an Impact Evaluation on the Program have shown that with regard to
education, there has been increased enrollment among children aged 3 to 11, and increased
attendance among children aged 6 to 17—resulting in near universal enrollment at 98% in this
age group? Meanwhile for health, there has been a 10% reduction in severe stunting among
children aged 6 to 36 months; the reduction in stunting is expected to yield long term results, as
stunting in the first few years of a child’s life has been linked to lower educational attainment
and reduced adult income? Healthcare-seeking behaviors have also been observed among
beneficiary families when a child falls ill.

The impact evaluation on the program has also noted a change in spending patterns of
beneficiary families, who have been spending more on health and education as opposed to poor
families who are not covered by the program!

Since the launch of the program, an overall increase in the general price level has been
sustained as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI was at an average of 111.4
when the 4Ps was launched in 2008, increasing to 142.3 in 2015.5 This resulted in an annual
average inflation rate of 4.07% for the period. Moreover, food inflation averaged 5.8% during

* Pantawid Pamilyan Pilipino Program. http://www.gov.ph/programs/conditional-cash-transfer/

2 The World Bank Philippines Conditional Cash Transfer Program Impact Evaluation 2012 (revised April 2014)
Ibid

Ibid.

* Consumer Price Index for all Income Households and Headline Inflation Rates Jan 2004 ~ November 2015.

hutp://www.nscb.gov.ph/secstav_price.asp

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the same period, which may affect the poor more as they spend a larger share of their household
budget on food. Despite the sustained increase in prices of commodities, the amount granted to
beneficiary families has remained the same at P500 per household every month for the health
grant, and P300 per child every month for the education grant. If the cash grant is maintained at
its current amount, without due consideration for inflation, the real value of these grants will
decrease over time, and may be insufficient for household spending. This could leave parents
with no other recourse than to urge children to help out in generating income rather than finish
schooling, which in turn could potentially push back poor families into the cycle of
intergenerational poverty.

In order to sustain the continuous benefits from this program beyond changes in
administrations, institutionalizing the 4Ps is imperative. The program plays a critical role in
poverty alleviation and in the development of human capital, but its value in addressing the issue
of poverty can be eroded if the amount given to eligible families remains stagnant amidst rapid
increases in cost of living. This amount must be automatically reviewed and adjusted every 6
years to account for changes in the cost of living without need for fi

In light of the foregoing, the approval of this bill j

VILMA SANTOS-RI


SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES — )
First Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.No._ 1948

Introduced by Representative VILMA SANTOS-RECTO
6" District of Batangas

AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING A CONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFER PROGRAM,
PROVIDING FOR THE AUTOMATIC INDEXATION OF CASH GRANTS AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino
Program Act of 2016”.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. ~ It is the declared policy of the State to promote the
development of human capital among Filipino families, especially on young children to break the
intergenerational cycle of poverty among poor households caused by low schooling and high
malnutrition rate.

SEC, 3. Objectives. — Pursuant to the government’s commitment to promote inclusive
growth and provide social assistance and development to its citizens, this Act aims to:

1, Improve preventive health care of pregnant women and young children;
2. Increase enrollment and/or attendance of children in elementary and
secondary levels;
.. Reduce incidence of child labor;
. Improve maternal health;

. Encourage parents to invest in their own and their children’s future; and

avr

. Encourage parents” participation in the growth and development of young
children, as well as involvement in the community.
SEC. 4. Eligible Beneficiaries. — To be eligible for the cash grants, households must meet

the following criteria:

1. Those belonging to the extremely poor household classification as defined
by the poverty threshold of the municipality or province based on the
issuance of the Philippine Statistical Authority (PSA) at the time of
selection; or those households from the informal settlers sector, who will
be displaced by the clearing and relocation operations of the government:
Provided, That those residing in danger areas like esteros, riverbanks,

Dane taf?


waterways, shorelines, garbage dumps, and railroad tracks shall be given

priori

2. Those households which, at the time of registration into the program, have
members who are aged 0 to 18 years old or have members who are
pregnant; and

3. Those who are willing to comply with the conditions specified by this Act.

Once eligible beneficiaries are defined, the beneficiary households are selected through

the use of the Proxy Means Test (PMT) from the information gathered in a Household Survey
Assessment Tool to be conducted by the DSWD.

SEC. 5. Program Grants, — Selected beneficiary households shall receive cash grants for
at least one of two components: health/nutrition and/or education.

The health/nutrition grant component aims to promote healthy practices and family
development, improve the nutritional status of young children, and increase the use of health
services by the beneficiary household. The health grant is a fixed amount and does not depend on
the number of members in the household.

The education grant component is granted to a maximum of three children in the
beneficiary household, aged 3 to 18 years old. In the event that the child is already above 18
years old but is enrolled in or still wishes to continue his/her elementary or secondary education,
he/she shall be provided with the education grant until senior high school is completed

‘The amounts for each component shall be determined by the DSWD, in consultation with
the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), taking into account the current needs for
health and education: Provided, That every six (6) years after the effectivity of this Act, the cash
grant shall be reviewed and adjusted to its present value using the Consumer Price Index, as
published by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

‘These grants are to be released on a quarterly basis to the beneficiary households for the
duration of their participation in the program, subject to their compliance with the program

conditionalities provided under Section 6 of this Act.

SEC. 6. Program Conditionalities. ~ Beneficiary households must comply with spec!
health and education conditionalities in order to continue receiving the cash grants provided in
Section 5 of this Act.

To continue availing of the health grant, all household grantees must attend Family
Development Sessions (FDS) at least once a month; children aged 0 to 5 years old must visit
health centers to avail of health services in the periodicity defined by DOH protocol; children
aged 6 years old and above must take de-worming pills twice a year at schools; and pregnant
household members must have at least one pre-natal consultation each trimester during the
pregnancy and delivery must be assisted by skilled health personnel.

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Children who receive education grants must be enrolled in a day care/pre-school
program, elementary or secondary school and maintain a class attendance rate of 85 percent per
month

SEC. 7. Forfeiture of Grant. — The payment of cash grants will be terminated if a
beneficiary household no longer meets the eligibility criteria provided in Section 4 of this Act
and/or does not comply with the conditions set forth in Section 6 of this Act.

If a beneficiary houschold is found to be non-compliant with the conditionalities in a
particular month, the cash grant will not be paid for that month, However, third offense of non-
compliance will result in termination of payments and temporary suspension from the program.

SEC. 8. Program Monitoring and Evaluation, ~ The DSWD, together with the
Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Education (DepEd). shall conduct a
periodic impact evaluation study to assess the overall effectiveness of the program in meeting its
health and education objectives, and to address leakages to further improve the delivery of the
program, The Secretary of DSWD shall furnish a copy of the results of the study to Congress.

SEC. 9. Appropriations. ~ The funds necessary for the full implementation of this Act
shall be annually appropriated in the budget of the DSWD under the General Appropriations Act
(GAA).

SEC. 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations. ~The lead implementing agency, DSWD,
in consultation with the DOH, DepEd, and Department of Interior and Local Government
(DILG), shall, within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act, formulate and promulgate
the rules and regulations which shall guide the program’s implementation and carry out the
provisions of this Act.

SEC. 11. Separability

thereof shall be held unconstitutional and invalid, the other parts or provisions of this Act, which

Yause. — If, for any reason, any provision of this Act or any part

are not affected thereby, shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 12. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, resolutions, orders or ordinances or parts
thereof inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 13. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,

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