RECEIVED

Republic of the Philippines ;
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE! pare: 04 Jul, 2016

Quezon City time: TAY,
SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS ey ig

First Regular Session
887 RreSTPATION UNIT
ILLS AND INDEX SERVICE

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by: Hon. Angelina “Helen” D.L. Tan, M.D.

AN ACT TO REDUCE POVERTY AND PROMOTE HUMAN CAPITAL
DEVELOPMENT BY INSTITUTIONALIZING A CONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFER
PROGRAM

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Article 2, Section 9 of the Constitution provides that, "The State shall 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 Paritawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is a form of conditional cash transfer
(CCT) that provides financial support to poor families, on condition that there will be
investments in the education and health of children aged 0 to 18.

The government envisions 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

‘The 4Ps was found to hold much promise in effectively addressing the chronic needs of
the poor as seen in the experiences of other countries’ CCT programs such as Oportunidades in
Mexico, Bolsa Escola and Bolsa Familia in Brazil, Red de Proteccion Social in Nicaragua,
Programa de Asistencia Familiar in Honduras, Program of Advancement through Health and
Education in Jamaica, Food-for-Education in Bangladesh and Subsidio Unico Familiar in Chile.

With the success stories in Latin America, CCT programs are now regarded as a leading-
edge social policy tool be y to influence both the income of the poor and to
improve their human capabilities.

‘The country’s CCT has been considered by the World Bank as the best social safety net
program in the world, according to the World Bank's report, “The State of Social Safety Nets
2015.” Currently, the Philippines has one of the biggest social safety net program in the world in
terms of the number of receivers and is still expanding at a rapid pace no one has even seen, the
World Bank said,

This bill seeks to institutionalize the implementation of the CCT program in the country
consistent with the country's commitment to meeting the Millennium Development Goals of
eradicating extreme hunger and poverty; achieving universal primary education; promoting
gender equality; reducing child mortality; and improving maternal health. Through legislation,
it is hoped that the continuity of the program will be ensured and shielded from the tides of
public policies brought about by the changes in administrations.

Hence, early passage of this measure is urgently sought.

ANGELINA “ Qty TAN, M.D.

4® District, Quezon


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

837
HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by: Hon. Angelina “Helen” D.L. Tan, M.D.

AN ACT TO REDUCE POVERTY AND PROMOTE HUMAN CAPITAL
DEVELOPMENT BY INSTITUTIONALIZING A CONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFER.
PROGRAM

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

SECTION I. Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program
Act."

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. Towards
this end, interventions necessary to break the intergenerational eycle of poverty among poor
households caused by low schooling and high malnutrition rate must be set in place,

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:

a. Improve preventive health care of pregnant women and young children;

b. Increase enrollment and/or attendance of children in elementary and secondary
levels;

c. Reduce incidence of child labor,

d. Improve maternal health;

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

£. Encourage parents’ participation in the growth and development of young
children, as well a, involvement in the community.

SEC. 4. Eligible Beneficiar'
the following criteri

- To be eligible for the cash grants, households must meet

1. Those belonging to the extremely poor household classification as defined by the poverty
threshold of the municipality/province based on the issuance of the National Statistical and
Coordination Board (NSCB) 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, waterways,
shorelines, garbage dumps, and railroad tracks shall be given priority;

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

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.

A Mediation Committee composed of representatives of a Local Government Unit (LGU)
concerned and the DSWD will be set up in the event of disputes on the inclusion or exclusion of
eligible household on the list of beneficiaries.

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 given 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 Statisties 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 specific
health and education conditionalities in order to continue receiving the cash grants provided in
Section 5 of this Act.

‘To continue availing of the grants the following requirements must be met:

a. 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;

b Children aged 0 to 6 years old must visit health centers to avail of health services as
prescribed by the Department of Health (DOH)

c. Children aged 6 years old and above must take de-worming pills twice a year at schools.

d. Pregnant household members must have at least one pre-natal consultation each
trimester; during the pregnancy and delivery, she must be assisted by skilled health personnel.

e. All household grantees must attend Family Development Sessions (FDS) at least once a
month, and parents must render at least twelve hours of community service each month.

SEC. 7. Forfeiture of Grant. - The payment of cash grants will be terminated upon the
following instances:

a. A beneficiary household no longer meets the eligibility criteria provided in Section 4 of
this Act;
b. Non-compliance with the conditions set forth in Section 6 of this Act.

If a beneficiary household 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. Additional Prohibition. - Pawning of the ATM card (by which the cash grants are
received) by a beneficiary to another individual is prohibited, Upon verification, the DSWD shall
stop payment of cash grant for the month that the ATM card was pawned.

SEC. 9. Program Monitoring and Evaluation. - The DSWD, together with the DOH und
the Department of Education (DepEd), shall conduet 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. 10. Grievance Redress System. - The DSWD shall develop a Grievance Redress
System that will address complaints regarding the implementation of the program.

SEC. 11. 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. 12. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The DSWD as the lead implementing
agency shall consult with the DOH, DepEd, and Department of Interior and Local Government
(DILG) within ninety (90) days of the effectivity of this Act regarding the formulation and
implementation of the rules and regulations which shall guide the program's implementation
and carry out the provisions of this Act

SEC. 13. Separability Clause — If, for any reason, any provision of this Act or any part
thereof shall be held unconstitutional and invalid, the other parts or provisions of this Act,
which are not affected thereby, shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 14. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, resolutions, orders or ordinances or parts
thereof inconsistent with this Act, arc hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

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

Approved,