SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
Third Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
S.No. 
2858 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
'15 
JUL 20 P 3 :38 
I\I-:"E'VE!> "Y'~ 
TO REDUCE POVERTY AND PROMOTE HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT 
THROUGH THE CREATION OF A NATIONAL CONDITIONAL 
FUND TRANSFER PROGRAM 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 2, Section 9 provides: "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. " 
In a 2014 survey by the Social Weather Stations, an estimated 12.1 million 
families in the Philippines consider themselves poor. The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino 
Program (4Ps) is a poverty reduction and social development program of the Philippine 
government, which aims to address this by providing cash assistance to poor families in 
order to "break the intergenerational poverty cycle through investments in human 
capital.,,1 The 4Ps was inspired by the successes of similar programs in Latin American 
countries such Balsa Familia in Brazil, Familia en Accion in Colombia and 
Oportunidades in Mexico. 
In Brazil, the Balsa Familia has two objectives: first, to reduce the poverty and 
inequalities currently marking Brazilian society by means of direct monetary transfers to 
poor families and, second, to put a stop to the inter-generational transmission of poverty 
1 Department of Social Welfare and Development. 4Ps New Briefer. Retrieved from 
http://pantawid.dswd.gov.ph/ 
1 


by developing human capital at the household leve1.2 The Philippines has adapted the 
same objectives with the goal of fulfilling the country's commitment to meeting the 
Millennium Development Goals of: 
1. Eradicating extreme hunger and poverty; 
2. Achieving universal primary education; 
3. Promoting gender equality; 
4. Reducing child mortality; and 
5. Improving maternal health. 
An initial study on the pilot areas of the program shows promising results. In 
Esperanza and Sibagat, Agusan del Sure for example, two of the pilot areas of the 4Ps 
have higher attendance compared to the general population of children in schools. There 
has been a remarkable increase in the use of health services by pregnant women and 
children compared to 2007 and there has also been a significant increase in the 
vaccination rate as well as a decrease in prevalence of malnutrition among children. 
The conditions attached to the current 4Ps of the DSWD require parents to 
undergo trainings on responsible parenthood, have their children undergo health check-
ups and ensure school attendance. The program ensures that there is sufficient resource 
for the health, nutrition and education of children aged 0-14 years old. 
Despite the far-reaching effects of this program, the 4Ps, however, has been 
hugely controversial, because of corruption issues on the implementation ofthe program, 
the lack of schools and health workers to implement the program, unaccounted 
disbursements, unequal distribution of beneficiaries, and the lack of supervision over the 
registration of qualified households, among other problems.3 Given these, there is a need 
to ensure the sustainability of the 4Ps by addressing the issues hounding the program. 
2 Bolsa Familia Programme A case of the Ministry of Social Insurance International Social 
Secnrity Association. 2010. 
3 2012 COA Report. 
2 


A 2013 study proposed that instead of expanding the program, the 4P should 
instead be deepened by "providing longer assistance to current beneficiaries to ensure 
that their children finish high school. This would mean extending coverage to up to 16 or 
18 years of age (taking into account K+12) to enable the CCT children to finish high 
school and increasing the period of coverage from 5 to 10 years or even longer.,,4 
Another study also proposed that the program should target the chronic poor, instead of 
the transient poor, in order to give the program a better focus. 5 
This bill widens the reach of the 4Ps to children who are 15 to 18 years of age. 
The bill also seeks to create an inter-agency council that will oversee and implement the 
program. It also seeks to penalize those who intend to use the program for personal or 
political gain. 
~~ 
.J,~ 
MIRIAM DEF~SOR ~TVGO 
qr 
4 Reyes, C. and Tauga, A. (2013). Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino: Why "deepening" matters in 
achieving its human capital objectives. Philippine Institute for Development Studies. Retrieved from 
http://di';P4.pids.gov.ph/ris/pn/pidspn1302.pdf. Last accessed 3 July 2015. 
Aldaba, et. al. (2012). PIDS 2012 Economic Policy Monitor. Philippine Institute for 
Development Studies. Retrieved from http://dirp4.pids.gov.phlris/books/pidsepm2012_v3.pdf. Last 
accessed 3 July 2015. 
3 


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Third Regular Session 
SENATE 
S. No. 
2858 
) 
) 
) 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
'15 
JUL 20 P 3 :38 
Hl<!Cr:IVEi) BY:_)~ 
TO REDUCE POVERTY AND PROMOTE HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT 
THROUGH THE CREATION OF A NATIONAL CONDITIONAL 
FUND TRANSFER PROGRAM 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
1 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Pantawid Pamilyang 
2 
Pilipino Program Act." 
3 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It shall be the policy of the State: 
4 
(A) 
To provide a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity 
5 
and independence of the nation and free the people from poverty through policies that 
6 
provide adequate social services and improve quality oflife; 
7 
(B) 
To give priority to education and health of children, accelerate social 
8 
progress and promote total human liberation and development; and 
9 
(C) 
To protect the life of mothers and their children. 
10 
SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act, the term: 
II 
(A) 
The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) shall refer to the national 
12 
poverty reduction strategy that provides conditional cash transfer to extremely poor 
13 
households to improve their health, nutrition, and education, particularly of children aged 
14 
0-18 years; 
1 


i' 
1 
(B) 
Beneficiaries shall refer to poor households with pregnant women and/or 
2 
with children 0-18 years of age selected by the Department of Social Welfare and 
3 
Development to be part of the program through the National Household Targeting 
4 
System for Poverty Reduction (NHTSP). 
5 
(C) 
Department shall refer to the Department of Social Welfare and 
6 
Development (DSWD) which is the lead and executing agency in the implementation of 
7 
this program. 
8 
(D) 
Small Area Poverty Estimate refers to a statistical tool and methodology of 
9 
generating estimates of poverty incidence by combining survey and census data at lower 
10 
levels of geographic disaggregation (cities and municipalities) utilized by the National 
11 
Census and Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). 
12 
(E) 
Extremely Poor or food poor shall refer to a person whose income or other 
13 
resources fall short of enabling him to provide for even just his nutritional requirements, 
14 
according to the NSCB, an individual earning less than ~27.70 (US$ 0.55) or ~830 
15 
(US$14.60) a month or ~9,963.00 (US $200.00) a year is extremely poor or food poor. 
16 
(F) 
Poor shall refer to a person whose income is sufficient to provide for his 
17 
nutritional needs but falls short of enabling him to provide for his other basic necessities 
18 
such as clothing, shelter, health, and education. According to the NSCB, an individual 
19 
earning less than ~24.80 ($US 0.83) a day or ~1,242 (US $24.80) a month or ~14,906 
20 
($US298.00) a year is poor. 
21 
SECTION 4. Objective a/the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). - The 
22 
Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Programs (4Ps) aims to: 
23 
(A) 
Reduce extreme hunger and poverty. 
24 
(B) 
Achieve universal primary education. 
25 
(C) 
Promote gender equality and empowerment of women. 
26 
(D) 
Reduce child mortality. 
2 


1 
(E) 
Improve maternal health. 
2 
SECTION 5. Construction. - This law shall be liberally construed in favor of 
3 
attainment of its objectives. 
4 
SECTION 6. Selection of Areas of Implementation. - The following guidelines 
5 
shall be followed in the selection of areas of implementation: 
6 
(A) 
In the selection of target areas, priority IS gIven to the poorest 
7 
municipalities as determined by Small Area Poverty Estimates generated by the National 
8 
Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). 
9 
(B) 
Priority shall also be given to cities with large pockets of poverty as 
10 
reported by the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) and/or the Presidential 
11 
Commission on Urban Poor (PCUP) and or National Census and Statistical Coordination 
12 
Board (NSCB). 
13 
(C) 
Priority shall likewise be given to indigenous people and other population 
14 
subgroups that live far from public schools. 
15 
SECTION 7. Eligible Households. - For a household to qualifY as beneficiary for 
16 
this program it must meet the following requirements: 
17 
I. 
The household is within the municipality or city identified as area of 
18 
implementation. 
19 
2. 
The household has at least one (I) 0-18 year old child and/or a pregnant 
20 
woman at the time of registration. 
21 
3. 
The household suffers from chronic poverty and falls within the priority 
22 
ranking as determined by the National Household Targeting System (NHTS) of the 
23 
DSWD, which involves rigorous household assessment and application of a Proxy Means 
24 
Test, a tool used to estimate the income of households on the basis proxy variables 
25 
including of household composition, education, socio-economic characteristic, housing 
3 


1 
conditions, access to basic services, assets, tenure status and regional variables. The 
2 
DSWD and all national government agencies shall use the NHTS for identifYing and 
3 
prioritizing beneficiaries for the 4Ps as well as other social services. 
4 
SECTION 8. Program Conditions. - All beneficiaries shall comply with the 
5 
following conditions as a requirement for continued program eligibility: 
6 
(A) 
Children 3-5 years of age must enroll in day care program or pre-school and 
7 
attend at least eighty five percent (85%) of the required school days; 
8 
(B) 
Children 6-14 years of age must be enroll in school and attend at least 
9 
eighty five percent (85%) of the required school days. They must also undergo 
10 
deworming at least twice a year; 
11 
(C) 
Children 15-18 years of age must be enrolled in schools and attend at least 
12 
seventy five percent (75%) of the required school days. 
13 
(D) 
Children 0-5 years of age must get regular preventive health check-ups and 
14 
vaccines based on the Department of Health (DOH) protocol; 
15 
(E) 
Children 3-5 years of age must enroll in day care program or pre-school and 
16 
attend at least eighty five percent (85%) of the required school days; 
17 
(F) 
Children 0-5 years of age must get regular preventive health check-ups and 
18 
vaccines based on the Department of Health (DOH) protocol; 
19 
(G) 
Pregnant women must get at least (3) pre-natal check-up starting from the 
20 
first trimester, get post natal care and the childbirth must be attended by a skilled/trained 
21 
health personnel 
22 
(H) 
Parents/ guardians must attend and complete responsible parenthood 
23 
seminars and parenting education sessions. 
24 
Failure to comply with the conditionalities warrants the suspension and/or removal 
25 
ofthe beneficiary from the program. 
4 


1 
SECTION 9. Grant Rates. - The following amounts shall be released to qualified 
2 
beneficiaries: 
3 
(A) The health grant beneficiary/family shall receive five hundred pesos (PSOO) 
4 
per month per household or a total of six thousand pesos (P6,000) per year; 
5 
(B) The education grant beneficiaries, the 3-14 year old children enrolled at the 
6 
day care program, pre-school, elementary school or high school shall receive three 
7 
hundred pesos (P300) per month for the ten (10) month school year or a total of three 
8 
thousand pesos (P3,000) in a year with a maximum of three (3) children per household; 
9 
(C) The education grant beneficiaries, the 15-17 year old children enrolled at high 
10 
school shall receive three hundred pesos (WOO) per month for the ten (10) month school 
11 
year or a total of three thousand pesos (W,OOO) in a year with a maximum of three (3) 
12 
children per household, in addition to any education grant beneficiaries who are 3-14 
13 
years old; 
14 
The grant rates may be adjusted by the DSWD if warranted by the changes in the 
15 
socio-economic conditions existing at the time. The DSWD shall ensure that the grant 
16 
rates are sufficient to make a positive impact on the health, nutrition and education 
17 
conditionalities, provided, that DSWD shall ensure that the grant will not serve as 
18 
disincentive for family members to work and improve their economic conditions. 
19 
SECTION 10. Grievance Redress System. - The Department shall develop a 
20 
Grievance Redress System that will address complaints regarding the implementation of 
21 
this program. 
22 
SECTION 11. Penalties. - The following penalties shall be imposed: 
23 
(A) 
A social worker who threatens to remove beneficiaries or offer to include 
24 
non-qualified households as beneficiaries shall pay a fine of five thousand pesos (PS,OOO) 
5 


1 
and shall be suspended for two weeks without pay, in addition to any administrative 
2 
penalty that he or she may incur. 
3 
(B) 
A government employee or local government official who uses his or her 
4 
position to include or remove beneficiaries in exchange for other services not included as 
5 
conditionalities in this Act, shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor or pay a fine of ten 
6 
thousand pesos (Il 1 0,000). 
7 
(C) 
A beneficiary who transfers his or her grant under the program through 
8 
fraudulent or deceitful means against the government, shall be removed from the program 
9 
and shall pay a fine of five thousand pesos (IlS,OOO). 
10 
SECTION 12. Inter-Agency Council. - There shall be a National Inter-Agency 
11 
Council for the implementation of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) 
12 
composed of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as Chair and 
13 
the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of 
14 
Interior and Local Government (DILG), National Economic Development Authority 
15 
(NEDA) and National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) as members. 
16 
SECTION 13. Functions o/the Inter-Agency Council. - The Council as a collegial 
17 
body shall have following functions: 
18 
(A) Formulate policies for the program 
19 
(B) Oversee the implementation of the program 
20 
SECTION 14. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Department of Social 
21 
Welfare and Development (DSWD) is hereby designated as the executing agency for this 
22 
Project. It is authorized to enter into agreements or cooperation with development 
23 
agencies, both national and international for financing and technical, as well as program 
24 
support for this program. The Department together with the members of the Inter-Agency 
25 
Council as well as other relevant agencies that the Department may involve, shall draft 
6 


1 
the Implementing Rules and Regulations for the implementation of this law within one 
2 
hundred twenty (120) days from the enactment of this law. 
3 
SECTION 15. Appropriation. - The amount equivalent to not less than three (3%) 
4 
of the approved budget in the General Appropriation Act is hereby automatically 
5 
appropriated to cover approximately sixty percent (60%) of the total poor families in the 
6 
Philippines. The amount appropriated shall be automatically increased to maintain the 
7 
participation of sixty percent (60%) of the total poor families should they increase from 
8 
the 4.7 Million families currently estimated. The appropriation shall continue for at least 
9 
ten (10) years from the enactment of this Act. The appropriation shall be included in the 
10 
annual appropriation of the DSWD. 
11 
SECTION 16. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is held invalid or 
12 
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other 
13 
provisions hereof. 
14 
SECTION 17. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, and issuances, or 
15 
portions thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby 
16 
repealed, amended or modified accordingly. 
17 
SECTION 18. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
18 
after its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general 
19 
circulation. 
Approved, 
/at7 J u120 15 
7