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SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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First Regular Session 
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SENATE 
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Introduced by Senator Ralph G. Recto 
Explanatory Note 
In 2008, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has launched one 
of the cornerstone programs of the government in its efforts to promote social protection and 
inclusive growth. The Pantawid Pamilyatig Pilipino Program, commonly referred to as 4Ps or 
Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), is a poverty reduction strategy that provides cash grants to 
extremely poor Filipino households to allow their families to achieve certain human 
development goals. The guidelines for the program's implementation were set by DSWD 
Administrative Order No. 16, Series of2008. 
It is one of the various safety net programs that have been implemented in several 
countries to provide social assistance to the poor. Many Latin American countries and other 
Asian countries such as Bangladesh and Indonesia, have also implemented such a program. The 
CCT program aims to expedite the country's rather slow accomplishment of the Millennium 
Development Goals (MDGs) and break the poverty cycle by addressing the issues of low 
education achievements, high levels of maternal and infant mortality rates, high malnutrition 
rate and high child labor rate. These are expected to be accomplished by complementing the 
supply-side interventions of other government agencies such as the Department of Education 
(DepEd) and the Department of Health (DOH) in addressing lagging human development 
outcomes. 
Nearly five years since its inception, the program has, to date, covered approximately 3.9 
million households which is divided in six sets, targeting almost 100% nationwide geographic 
coverage!. Each set of beneficiaries is enrolled in the program for a maximum period of five 
years thereby producing the first set of graduates from the program by December 31 of this year. 
According to several studies, the program has already shown positive impacts on its 
beneficiary households. The cash grants increase the household incomes of the poor which 
consequently increase local consumption favoring the growth of micro enterprises. Moreover, 
the conditionalities set forth in the program have helped improve the education and health of 
children. Compliance rates as of June 2013 show that 98% of students, aged 3 to 14 years, 
enrolled in the CCT program complied with the 85% attendance requirement; 96% of children 
aged 0 to 14 years complied with the regular check-up and de-worming requirement; and 95% 
of parents complied with the attendance to family development sessions2• 
Notwithstanding these promising results, the CCT program still faces challenges in 
program administration leakages and weaknesses. However, the DSWD is committed to address 
complaints through their Grievance Redress System (GRS) and continue expanding the program' 
to help more people in the vulnerable sectors in the country who may not be covered by the 
regular CCT program. 
I Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, Program Implementation Status Report, as of June 20 \3, DSWD 
2 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, Program Implementation Status Report, as of June 2013, DSWD 


The program also remains subject to discontinuance once future administrations decide to 
halt the program due to differences in priorities and budgetary constraints caused by the 
increasing number of targeted program beneficiaries. This bill therefore, secures the continued 
implementation of the CCT by institutionalizing the program and its funding in the General 
Appropriations Act. The cumulative budget appropriated for the program from 2008 to 2013 
stands at Pl20 billion while the 2014 budget is at P62.6 billion. 
One of the bill's expansion features is the inclusion of families residing in the areas 
identified as 'danger zones' and 'unsafe to live' by the government in the list of eligible 
beneficiaries. These families tend to become vulnerable to disasters caused by flooding, 
flashfloods and other natural calamities. Latest data of the government showed that as of July 
2011, there are about 1,502,336 informal settler families nationwide. The bulk of which, at about 
584,425 are in Metro Manila, while the rest are from the different regions in the country. Thus, 
the government has launched its clearing program by relocating affected families to in-city and 
off-city housing sites. 
Including them as eligible beneficiaries to the program, subject to the standard screening 
procedures of the DSWD, can mitigate the effects of such clearing and relocation to the 
economic and financial stability of the families that will be displaced. This is parallel to the 
current Modified Conditional Cash Transfer for Homeless and Street Families (MCCT-HSF) of 
the DSWD which aims to provide cash grants for the education, health, and other development 
needs of street families and their children. 
The bill, likewise, guarantees that children of beneficiary households who are attending 
school will be able to complete secondary education and not be hindered by the five-year period 
and the 14-year age limitation currently set by the regular CCT program. The bill, thus, expands 
the age for eligible schooling from the current 14 years to 18 years and provides that those above 
18 years old will still be able to avail of the education grant until senior high school is 
completed. 
Several studies indicate that attaining higher levels of education will help in obtaining 
higher wages. Based on the July 2011 Labor Force Survey, the average daily wage of a worker 
who had finished high school is at P246, or 32% higher than that of an elementary graduate 
which is only at P186. The difference in wages clearly shows that, indeed, investments in 
education bring forth higher returns in one's future. 
Investments have to be made to increase the access of the poor to education and good 
health. The government has an earnest task to equalize opportunities and take affirmative actions 
for the poor. Institutionalizing the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program materializes this goal 
by helping in the redistribution of wealth to decrease the prevailing income inequality, ensuring 
that the poor may also take advantage of finding better employment opportunities, and improving 
human capital to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty in the country. 
In view ofthe foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnest! sought. 
ejcv/mksbc 


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SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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First Regular Session 
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'13 
JUL 29 f'5 :25 
SENATE 
S. No. 1152 
Introduced by Senator Ralph G. Recto 
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: 
I 
SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino 
2 
Program Act of2013" 
3 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the declared policy of the State to promote the 
4 
development of human capital among Filipino families, especially on young children to break the 
5 
intergenerational cycle of poverty among poor households caused by low schooling and high 
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malnutrition rate. 
7 
SEC. 3. Objectives. - Pursuant to the govermnent's commitment to promote inclusive 
8 
growth and provide social assistance and development to its citizens, this Act aims to: 
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1. Improve preventive health care of pregnant women and young children; 
10 
2. Increase enrollment and/or attendance of children in elementary and 
11 
secondary levels; 
12 
3. Reduce incidence of child labor; 
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4. Improve maternal health; 
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5. Encourage parents to invest in their own and their children's future; and 
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6. Encourage parents' participation in the growth and development of young 
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children, as well as involvement in the community. 
17 
SEC. 4. Eligible Beneficiaries. - To be eligible for the cash grants, households must meet 
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the following criteria: 
19 
1. Those belonging to the extremely poor household classification as defined 
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by the poverty threshold of the municipality/province based on the 
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issuance of the National Statistical and Coordination Board (NSCB) at the 
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time of selection; or those households from the informal settlers sector, 
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who will be displaced by the clearing and relocation operations of the 
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government: Provided, That those residing in danger areas like esteros, 
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1 
riverbanks, waterways, shorelines, garbage dumps, and railroad tracks 
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shall be given priority; 
3 
2. Those households which, at the time of registration into the program, have 
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members who are aged 0 to 18 years old or have members who are 
5 
pregnant; and 
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3. Those who are willing to comply with the conditions specified by this Act. 
7 
Once eligible beneficiaries are defined, the beneficiary households are selected through 
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the use of the Proxy Means Test (PMT) from the information gathered in a Household Survey 
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Assessment Tool to be conducted by the DSWD. 
10 
SEC. 5. Program Grants. - Selected beneficiary households shall receive cash grants for 
11 
at least one of two components: health/nutrition and/or education. 
12 
The health/nutrition grant component aims to promote healthy practices and family 
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development, improve the nutritional status of young children, and increase the use of health 
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services by the beneficiary household. The health grant is a fixed amount and does not depend on 
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the number of members in the household. 
16 
The education grant component is granted to a maximum of three children in the 
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beneficiary household, aged 3 to 18 years old. In the event that the child is already above 18 
18 
years old but is enrolled in or still wishes to continue hislher elementary or secondary education, 
19 
he/she shall be provided with the education grant until senior high school is completed. 
20 
The amounts for each component shall be determined by the DSWD, in consultation with 
21 
the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), taking into account the current needs for 
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health and education. 
23 
These grants are to be released on a quarterly basis to the beneficiary households for the 
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duration of their participation in the program, subject to their compliance with the program 
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conditionalities provided under Section 6 of this Act. 
26 
SEC. 6. Program Conditionalities. - Beneficiary households must comply with specific 
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health and education conditionalities in order to continue receiving the cash grants provided in 
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Section 5 ofthis Act. 
29 
To continue availing of the health grant, all household grantees must attend Family 
30 
Development Sessions (FDS) at least once a month; children aged 0 to 5 years old must visit 
31 
health centers to avail of health services in the periodicity defined by DOH protocol; children 
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aged 6 years old and above must take de-worming pills twice a year at schools; and pregnant 
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household members must have at least one pre-natal consultation each trimester during the 
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pregnancy and delivery must be assisted by skilled health personnel. 
35 
Children who receive education grants must be enrolled in a day care/pre-school 
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program, elementary or secondary school and maintain a class attendance rate of 85 percent per 
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month. 
Page 2 of3 


, , 
I 
SEC. 7. Foifeiture of Grant. - The payment of cash grants will be terminated. if a. 
2 
beneficiary household no longer meets the eligibility criteria provided in Section 4 of this Act 
3 
andlor does not comply with the conditions set forth in Section 6 of this Act. 
4 
If a beneficiary household is found to be non-compliant with the conditionalities in a 
5 
particular month, the cash grant will not be paid for that month. However, third offense of non-
6 
compliance will result in termination of payments and temporary suspension from the program. 
7 
SEC. 8. Program Monitoring and Evaluation. -
The DSWD, together with the 
8 
Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Education (DepEd), shall conduct a 
9 
periodic impact evaluation study to assess the overall effectiveness of the program in meeting its 
10 
health and education objectives, and to address leakages to further improve the delivery of the 
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program. The Secretary ofDSWD shall furnish a copy of the results ofthe study to Congress. 
12 
SEC. 9. Appropriations. - The funds necessary for the full implementation of this Act 
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shall be annually appropriated in the budget of the DSWD under the General Appropriations Act 
14 
(GAA). 
15 
SEC. 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The lead implementing agency, DSWD, 
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III consultation with the DOH, DepEd, and Department of Interior and Local Government 
17 
(DILG), shall, within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act, formulate and promulgate 
18 
the rules and regulations which shall guide the program's implementation and carry out the 
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provisions of this Act. 
20 
SEC. 11. Separability Clause. - If, for any reason, any provision of this Act or any part 
21 
thereof shall be held unconstitutional and invalid, the other parts or provisions of this Act, which 
22 
are not affected thereby, shall remain in full force and effect. 
23 
SEC. 12. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, resolutions, orders or ordinances or parts 
24 
thereof inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly. 
25 
SEC. 13. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
26 
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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