“OF REPRE
RECEIVED
Dave: 18 JUL 2016
TINE: :
BY:

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

1661

RECISTRATION UNIT

H.B. No. BILLS ANJ INDEX SERVICE

Introduced by HONORABLE BELLAFLOR J. ANGARA-CASTILLO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4 Ps) is a human development measure that
provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor. As of August 2015, there are 4.4
million active household-beneficiaries, of which 570,056 are indigenous households and
217,359 have at least one person with disability. With an average of two to three children per
registered household-beneficiary, the program also covers 10.2 million schoolchildren aged 0 to
18

In partnership with the Commission on Higher Education, the Department of Labor and
Employment, and the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges, 4 Ps has
enrolled 36,003 beneficiaries in state universities and colleges as of June 2015. Additionally, in
partnership with PhilHealth, 4 Ps has covered 4.4 million beneficiaries under the National Health
Insurance Program’

Recent studies show that the program has reduced the total poverty and food poverty
among conditional cash transfer (CCT) beneficiaries by up to 6.7 percentage points. At the
national level, estimates show the program reduced both total poverty and food poverty by up to
1.4 percentage points in 2013. According to World Bank, the Philippines’ CCT program has
grown into one of the largest and best-targeted social safety net programs in the world, with
majority of the benefits going to the bottom 40 percent of the country’s population”.

The program, however, may be subject to discontinuance by future administrations,
despite its promising results in reducing poverty and promoting human capital development. It is
thus imperative to institutionalize the 4 Ps through legislation to sustain its success, particularly
in addressing the needs of the poor.

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

onli it bow iliiire

Representative
Lone District, Province of Aurora

* http://www. gov.ph/programs/conditional-cash-transfer/
* http://wrmw.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2016/02/19/world-bank-approves-new-funding-for-philippines-social-
safety-net

NTATIVES



COVOHRONS

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES —_)
FIRST REGULAR SESSION )

H.B.No.__ 1661

Introduced by HONORABLE BELLAFLOR J. ANGARA-CASTILLO

AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE PANTAWID PAMILYANG PILIPINO PROGRAM (4 PS) TO
REDUCE POVERTY AND PROMOTE HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

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 (4 Ps) 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 of
living, and an improved quality of life for all

The State further 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;

(0) Promote gender equality and empowerment of women;

(d) Achieve universal primary education;

(e) Reduce child mortality; and

() 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 to improve their functioning
by dealing with their difficulties, specifically in complying with the conditions of the
Program;

(6) Compliance verification refers to the checking and monitoring done to ensure that the
qualified household-beneficiaries comply with the conditions for entitlement set forth by
the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4 Ps);

(©) Conditional cash grant refers to the amount being received by the qualified household-
beneficiaries who comply with the conditions for entitlement;

(a) 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;

() Grievance Redress System refers to the mechanism of the DSWD which addresses
and resolves issues and concems related to the implementation of the Program;

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(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;

() 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;

() Preventive health check-up refers to health services comprising of complete
immunization, deworming, weight monitoring and management of childhood diseases;

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

(l) Qualified household-beneficiaries refer to households identified by the DSWD for
entitlement of the monthly 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 the national government agencies and implemented by
the DSWD.

SEC. 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 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 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 of the
equivalent of three thousand pesos (P3,000,00) per a ten(10)-month school year,

(b) Five hundred pesos (R500,00) 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

(©) Seven hundred pesos (P700.00) per month per child enrolled in senior high ‘schoo! or
the equivalent of seven thousand pesos (R7,000,00) 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 schoo! who has maintained passing grades in all subjects after
the second year of availment of the Program.

SEC. 7. Conditions for Entitlement. All 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 health check-ups and
vaccinations;

(b) Children six (6) to thirteen (13) years old must avail of deworming pills at least twice a
year,

(©) Children three (8) to five (5) years old must attend day care or preschool classes at least
eighty-five percent (85%) of the time;

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(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 postnatal care and give birth with the
assistance of a skilled or trained health care professional in a health facility;

() 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 non-government 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;

()) Atleast one (1) responsible person must plant trees in the surroundings; and

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

SEC. 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 on one (1) year, the conditional cash grant shall be cancelled.

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 bimonthly basis through an authorized govemment depository
bank duly identified by the DSWD, using difference 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 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 health, nutrition and education of grantees: Provided,
That the DSWD shall ensure that the grant will not serve as a 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 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.

SEC. 12. Five (5)-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 DSWD shall have the following functions:
(@) Select and use an appropriate and 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;

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(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;

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

( 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
DepEd, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Health
(DoH), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth), Department of the Interior and
Local Government (DILG), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE), National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), 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.

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 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 Program 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.

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 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.

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

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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 (210,000.00) 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, hereinafter to be referred to as the 4 Ps Committee, is
hereby constituted. The 4 Ps 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.

SEC, 20. implementing Rules and Regulations. Within six (6) months from the effectivity of
this Act, the Secretary of DSWD shall, in coordination with appropriate government departments
and agencies, and 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 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

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,

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