PAMILYANG PANTAWID PILIPINO PROGRAM (4Ps): Is Pro Sustainable Human Development or Anti?

Presented to PROF. LOMALA O. IMAM

Department of Masters of Public Administration College of Graduate School Mindanao State University

Marawi City

In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Course

MPA 201 (Introduction to Public Administration) 1st Semester 2011-2012

By

THREJANN ACE L. NOLI

2011

Acknowledgement

This paper would not be possible without the help of the following individuals who in

one way or the other relatively help in the success of this paper.

Prof. Lomala O. Imam, the professor of MPA 201 who inspires the author in making a

term paper about the issue on Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

His colleagues from Social Work Department specifically Prof. Bag-ao and Prof.

Faunillan who give technical support to the author on the conception of this paper.

Ms. Darling Saratorio, RSW, a municipal link of 4Ps who lends the author on references

about the program that he needed.

To his family who extends financial, moral and material assistance to make the term

paper feasible.

Ms. Marie Cris Bandiola, the girlfriend of the author who gives him moral support and

encouragements.

And lastly, to the ALMIGHTY GOD, who uses the aforesaid persons who helped him in

the success of the paper and provides him with strength, knowledge and wisdom in the

orchestration of this project.

Threjann Ace L. Noli, RSW

INTRODUCTION

A very critical issue on the government today is on how to respond the aftermath

effects of poverty. Many comprehensive programs of social services were formulated by the

government as its responsibility towards ameliorating the conditions of its constituents as

stipulated in Article 1, section 2 of RA 5416 creating the Department of Social Welfare

(Cordero,et.al, 1985). With this responsibility, the government came to a point to lend money

from Asian Development Bank and even World Bank beyond its capacity to pay.

Though the state is into the promotion of citizens’ welfare, it has focus or priorities in

rendering government service particularly to the sectors that belong below poverty line.

According to Mendoza (2002) in her Humanitarian and Social Justice Goal which based on the

belief that man has the potential to realize himself, except that physical, social, economic,

psychological and other factors sometimes hinder or prevent him from realizing his potentials,

it involves the identification of the most afflicted, most dependent, most neglected and those

least able to help themselves, and making them priority target for the investment of scarce

resources. Thus, most of the government’s social welfare programs and services focus on the

aforementioned sectors specially mentioned the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)

aims to alleviate the condition of Filipino beneficiaries but reaps enormous significant public

critics from various fields of professions and even from laymen public because of its expensive

budgetary requirement in its implementation.

Aside from that, the issue that this paper is trying to answer is anchored on the claim

and clamor of significant individuals that this program is modern dole-out. Supported by

KADAMAY (Katipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap), “this debt-driven and benefit unsustainable

social protection program provides temporary relief but cannot replace the long term benefit of

stable jobs and decent incomes. The 4Ps program, thus, reinforces, not breaks, the

intergeneration cycle of poverty among the Filipino people.”

Social Work Educators and Social Work practitioners critic it even though it is

implemented through their mother agency, the DSWD by its satellite regional offices.

Legislators from national and local level, politicians, and educators who observed and heard the

feedbacks from the implementers named this as dole-outs. Furthermore, the program became

the eye sore of Filipinos because of its high budget allocation requirement which aims to

reduce poverty incidence through social assistance in a form of cash assistance to the poor

families without ensuring the desired result of it. Aside from that, last 2008 during the

administration of Former President Arroyo, it was allotted 2.1 billion pesos for 321,000

household-beneficiaries and the proceeding year to 2013, it was increased to P5 billion per year

to support the same households excluding additional beneficiaries as it was expanded in

Aquino’s administration (4ps Handouts).

With a large amount of money allocated for this program without clear evaluation tools

in assessing its effectiveness, without clear guidelines on how the beneficiaries will spend the

money and other bleak and weak conditions of the program, I can’t blame the concerned

individuals, group of people and organizations who prejudged without scrutinizing in details the

program and expressed sympathy on the lack of security of the money being spent for a faint

outcome of 4Ps that this is a form of modern dole-outs. The judgment of these people and even

professionals were based on what they have witnessed by their bare eyes, on how inefficient

the cash grants were being distributed and exploited by the recipients. But the issue on the

impact of this program is indirectly related to the issue of dole-outs.

On the contrary, as the one who is trying to clear the mystery about the issue of the

program, considering its requirements and conditions, the entitled usage of the cash grants,

and the processes and dynamics of 4Ps, I stand my ground that this program is not dole-out but

rather a program that tries to empower the intended beneficiaries and in the succeeding pages

of this paper, but has an inherent aspect of sustainable human development.

The program embraces the two important facets that might eventually contribute to the

reduction of poverty namely: assistance to education and assistance to health. Many would

claim that the program has no bearing with the poverty alleviation since it doesn’t directly

address financial difficulty of its clients. However, observers of this project failed to see the long

term goal it has to address and achieve.

SCOPE AND LIMITATION

Since its implementation from the administration of former President Arroyo, the

program reaps negative critics and feedbacks. But what made it worst accordingly is the

expansion of the program under the incumbent administration requiring huge amount of

money to attend the needs of the intended beneficiaries. Hence, the mystery of the program

becomes intensified through massive judgment coming not only from the professionals but

even the common Filipinos who observed the program.

The paper focuses on the issue of the PANTAWID PAMILYANG PILIPINO PRORAM

(4Ps): is modern dole out or a program geared towards people empowerment. This is to bring

light on the claim of many individuals from various echelon of the society which put the

program on hot seat that it is meaningless, increases dependency among Filipinos through its

limited and subjective opinions and thus, tagged it as a modern dole-out.

Effectiveness, efficiency and the impact of the program are excluded in this paper.

Furthermore, it’s built in mechanisms on assessing its impact, the selection of eligible

beneficiaries and other issues that try to answer its effectiveness are outside the vicinity of this

paper though it might be included on the background of the program but it won’t receive

thorough discussion throughout this paper.

Conceptual Framework

It would be illogical, impractical and fallacy if I would argue on the issue that this

program is not dole-out on the query, why did the Department of Social Welfare and

Development Office proposed this program and why did the government approve it in the very

first place if it has no important bearing in the empowerment of Filipino citizens? Although, it

may sounds impractical, but there’s a grain of truth on this query or issue. But to make it

persuasive and substantive, it calls professional mechanism to patch up this thing. I would lay

down numerous but significant points of view proving that the program has inherent aspects of

empowerment.

Furthermore, there are various variables or reasons and realities that we need to know

about 4P’s (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) which will clear the blurredness on its issue

as modern dole-out and increase dependency among Filipinos respectively the beneficiaries of

the program and reclaim its integrity as long term program of the government not only for

poverty reduction but also empowering the involved partners (clients) of this endeavor.

The arguments are the following:

1. It has established conditions and requirements which the beneficiaries need to

comply and it has systematic selection process of beneficiaries.

2. It has built in activities to reinforce the benefits of the program such as parent

effectiveness seminar and the like.

3. It covers the three functions of Social Work Profession namely: Curative, Preventive

and Developmental Functions

4. It uses the Planned Change Process/Helping Process of the profession from

Engagement up to Termination and Follow-up.

These grounds might not be enough but it will help us understand that the program

geared towards People Empowerment.

Review of Related Literature

Tracing the history of social welfare, the form of helping the needy is in a form of doling

out (Mendoza, 2002). Even the Elizabeth Poor Law of 1601 was the first legislation of the

British Empire to help the needy in their kingdom in form of alms. The society cannot get away

from the tendency to misjudge any program of the government to tag it as dole-out especially if

it involves with monetary assistance without regards to thorough examination on the program.

Because of the historical understanding and knowledge about social welfare services that it’s all

about almsgiving, the 4Ps became a victim of such judgment.

To muster and strengthen the claim that the program is not dole-out but instead

upholds the sustainable human development, I will discuss substantially the following points.

1. It has established conditions and requirements which the beneficiaries need to comply

to avail cash grants and it has systematic selection process of beneficiaries.

A dole out undertaking lacks the basic characteristics of a long term program. It lacks

evaluation tools, assessments, records and case studies and most especially, the conditions

that the beneficiaries would undertake in order to avail the program and to continue receiving

assistance. Technically, when we talked doling out, there is no obligation on the part of the

worker to evaluate and monitor if the conditions are being met and upheld by the partners of

the program and corresponding consequences if the former is not followed. In 4ps program,

the abovementioned features are present which we will highlight at this part proving that its

pro-sustainable human development program. Here are the following conditions (4PsManual,

2010):

a. Pregnant women must get pre and post natal care, and be attended by a skilled/

trained professional during child birth.

b. Parents or guardians must attend responsible family development sessions.

c. Children 0-5 years old must receive regular preventive health checkups and vaccines.

d. Children 3-5 years old must attend day care or pre-school classes at least 85% of the

time.

e. Children 6-14 years old must enroll in elementary or high school and attend at least

85% of the time.

f. Children 6-14 years old must avail of deworming pills every five months.

The failure to comply the conditions will result in the suspension of cash grants,

deduction of cash assistance or dropping from the program. In consideration with this claim, it’s

very clear that the program is not doling out.

2. It has built in activities to reinforce the benefits of the program such as parent

effectiveness seminar and the like.

The very common aspect of sustainable human development is the education aspect

which a key towards poverty reductions as embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights. Dole outing has no absolute characteristic of this.

Education must have a central place in development efforts aside from the provision of

basic social services to poor people. Everyone has the right to education according to article 26

of Universal declaration of Human Rights (United Nations, 1988); moreover, no lasting progress

towards poverty and violence reduction without providing educational opportunities for all

(United Nations, 1995a). It compels the program to amalgamate educational opportunites

among parents to enhancement of parental responsibility. Hence, led to the integration of the

Parent Effectiveness Seminar, composed of 9 modules-consist of more than 1 session. To wit:

1. Module 1: Myself as a Person and a Parent; helps the parents to understand

themselves, assess their strengths and weaknesses and pinpoint ways to boost their

self-esteem with regards to parenting.

2. Module 2: The Filipino Family; provides knowledge for parents of understanding the

nature and dynamics of Filipino Family and how it affects the development of

children.

3. Module 3: Challenges of Parenting; establishes the possible ways of responding to

challenges occur during parenting, strengthens the relationship of the couple and

manners of weaning their children in light of upholding high spiritual values.

4. Module 4: Child Development; helps the parents of understanding the development

of the child, materials that will stimulate healthy developments and establishing

supports in child developments.

5. Module 5: Keeping your Child Safe from Abuses; orients the parents on the

different rights of a child, nature and scope and sanctions of child abuses and

possible ways of preventing child abuse.

6. Module 6: Building Children’s Positive Behavior; guides the parents about

techniques of handling the behavior of younger children and adolescents and

measures of responding to risk-taking behavior of the latter where inculcation of

positive behaviors among them is the utmost priority.

7. Module 7: Health and Nutrition; teaches the parents on family planning, the proper

ways of caring the pregnant and lactating mother, preparation of nutritious foods

and other concrete procedures where health and nutrition of the child and the

mother are primary precedence.

8. Module 8: Home Management; teaches and guides the parents on how to properly

manage the activities inside home where time management, financial management

and basic stress management techniques are being tackled to create a healthy

atmosphere of home.

9. Module 9: Keeping A Healthy Environment for your Children entails how the

community can create preventive mechanisms of protecting the children from

various undesirable conditions(e.g., abuses, exploitations and etc.) and ways of

maintaining a clean dwelling for them.

The modules provide apparent and unambiguous strategies in enhancing the parenting

skills of the parents, the manner of strengthening Filipino families and other mechanisms which

are preventive and developmental in nature geared towards sustainable human development

not only of the parents but as well as for their children, hence, the program is lucidly not dole

out.

3. It covers the three functions of Social Work Profession namely: Curative, Preventive

and Developmental Functions.

Aquino, who graced the packed “Noy-Mar Volunteers in Cebu” gathering at the Cebu

City Coliseum, lashed out at critics, saying the conditional cash transfer; dubbed Pantawid

Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) directly helps the poorest of the poor. The dole-out is P29

billion of the P34-billion Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) budget.

“Kung may nakikita tayong nalulunod sa baha at hinagisan natin ng salbabida, nagiging

bayani tayo. Pero kung may mahirap na binibigyan ng tulong, binabatikos tayo (If we throw a

rubber lifeline at someone floundering in floodwaters, we’re called a hero. But if we provide

help to the poor, we are criticized)”

The contention of the President will fall on the Curative function of social work which

defined by de Guzman (1991) as a process of seeking to remove factors which have caused the

breakdown in the person’s social functioning (role performance of the person). With regards to

the situation of the beneficiaries of the program, they suffer already the breakdown caused by

numerous factors such as financial difficulty as the primary reason why they ended up in this

situation. Since the target of curative function is to remove the causes, giving the financial

assistance to beneficiaries for intended expenditure for instance, children’s payment to tuition

fees, daily allowance, health budget for natal care and other related health related concerns,

the giving of assistance is justifiable in preparation to move forward to the third function of

Social Work. Furthermore, moving forward to the Developmental function of the profession

which to help individuals make maximum use of his own potentials, and capacities as well as to

further the effectiveness of available social or community resources will be difficult if the social

workers failed to eliminate the factors that cause the dysfunctionality of the clients. Thus,

undertaking the intervention for the purpose of developing the clients capacities would be risky

for they were not prepared and the working and underlying causes of their situation have not

yet been removed. So it is imperative for us to become effective and efficient to work on the

reasons of the problems.

Moreover, the Developmental function of social work usually has an educational aspect.

As the program has its dual objective, one is the social assistance in a form of cash assistance

and social development which entails the empowerment aspect of the program. To personify

its second objective, the program has its seminar on effective parenting which has 9 series of

modules consist of various sessions per module as stipulated in the third ground of defending

the program has an inherent disposition of sustainable human development.

In addition, aside from its modular lessons on effective parenting, the program sets the

conditions of sending the children to schools and encourages the pregnant women to have

their regular natal check up to respond the issue of mortality rate in the country. Aside from

that, the children who are not going to school because of financial difficulty of their families are

being responded by the government in a form of subsidizing the families to send the children to

school.

If it was doling out all about, the government will not bother to evaluate the

development of the program; will not coordinate with the Department of Education, the

Department of Health through barangay health centers in the appearances of mothers in the

center, monitor the daily attendance of children in school who receive educational assistance

from the government and their participation in communal activities.

Lastly is the preventive function of the profession (Mendoza, 2002) as integrated in the

program is through also in a form of educating these beneficiaries for this function can be

simultaneously achieved with the developmental function. Furthermore, these are manifested

through the pre and post natal check up of mothers involves the early discovery, control and

elimination of those conditions or situations which may have a harmful effect on their social

functioning specifically on the threats during pregnancy, after pregnancy and the health

condition of the newly born child as well as the mother, and sending the children to school is

preventing these kids from becoming liabilities (e.g. CICL, victims of child labor, abuses and the

like) in the community and the country at large.

4. It uses the Planned Change Process/Helping Process of the profession from

Engagement up to Termination and Follow-up.

The unique feature of the profession in rendering help to our partners is through the

use of systematic process which inherent among the primary three methods of social work such

as casework, group work and community organization.

The so-called planned change process (Ashman, 2010) is composed of seven steps such

as engagement ( the initial contact and establishment of client-worker relationship),

assessment (the idientification of the various factors affecting the social functioning clients, and

the extent of its effects, how it can be addressed), planning( involves the thorough planning of

the worker and client on how to respond the latter’s problems), implementation of the plan

(actual undertaking of the plan), evaluation (determining if the given efforts are worthwhile and

effective) termination (the termination of the working relationship) and follow up (determining

if there is a need to continue the helping process).

Engagement with the municipal link and the beneficiaries started the helping

relationship of the program which entails the gathering of basic data, they plan on how to

address the needs of the beneficiaries aside from financial assistance (assessment), undertaking

of the built in activities and even the giving of financial assistance (implementation), the worker

now tries to determine if the conditions are being observed and there are possible changes

(evaluation), termination( if the beneficiaries no longer observing the requirements and

whether the beneficiaries can be part of the another sequel program such as Kalahi-CIDSS and

SEA-K (Self-employment Assistance Kaunlaran)(Follow-up).

Basically the program upholds the systematic planned change process of the profession,

hence, is consistent with the sustainable human development. According to Mendoza (2002)

the direct provision model of Social Work which defined by Schneiderman “as the

enhancement of client social functioning through the direct provision of material aid, financial

aid useful in eliminating or reducing situational deficiencies” is considered by many as dole-out

model but to her it’s not because it still involved the helping process (planned change) of the

profession. The poverty situation in the Philippines calls for the direct provision of various

forms of material assistance to different needy and disadvantaged individuals and groups which

we find in practically all parts of the country (Mendoza, p.273).

Conclusion

Needless to say,the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is not a dole-out

program. Sustainable human development through empowerment is embedded on its aspect

as we thoroughly discussed in the preceding parts of this paper.

It is imperative for every program to respond on the possible changes from the

environment which allows its flexibility to undergo modifications in catering the newest

conditions to become effective, efficient and responsive to the needs of the catered clients.

To reiterate, the program is not almsgiving because it has established conditions and

requirements which the beneficiaries need to comply; it has built in activities to reinforce the

benefits of the program such as parent effectiveness seminar and the like; it covers the three

functions of Social Work Profession namely: Curative, Preventive and Developmental Functions

and it uses the Planned Change Process/Helping Process of the profession from Engagement up

to Termination and Follow-up.

However, it’s inevitable that the program has a need to undergo various modifications

which is the greatest challenge on the part of the responsible agency to uphold the ethos of

public administration not only the modern ethos but as well as the classic one.

Nevertheless, it’s crystal clear then that the program is not a dole out.

Recommendations

As the program experiences enormous critics, it accepts the challenges by countering it

through their milestone efforts which supersedes its old ways of implementation through

modifying some of its processes to respond in the demands from external environment

specifically on the issue of efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, economical and

transparency aspects of the program.

However, despite of its vital modifications, the author would like to recommend some

important suggestions which will be useful in enriching the program:

1. The municipal links who are social workers should be trained properly on the

appropriate manner of facilitating the lecture-seminar of Parent Effectiveness

Seminar which the program didn’t give much emphasis about it. Considering that

not all municipal links possess strong relevant trainings on handling this kind of

undertaking, the execution of the seminar is not forceful in terms of efficiency and

effectiveness. It might defeat the authenticity of the lectures.

2. There should be strict observance of the conditions in terms of evaluation and

monitoring on the part of the municipal links among the beneficiaries.

3. There should be cross-checking at the level of the worker for the potential

beneficiaries of the program and will not totally dependent on the list being given by

the barangay council and preventive measures from abuses and exploitations of the

local chief executive on their own vested interest.

4. The program should include on their social development activities the livelihood

assistance and trainings and provision of technical assistance for financial alleviation

for concrete outcome so that cash assistance will be sustained.

5. The program should give much emphasis on the processing of the grievances and

immediate necessary actions.

6. They should always upgrade and inform the public about the nature and dynamics of

the program as well as its new developments as part of transparency and public

relations strategy which the program forgets to promote and inform the public its

features and purpose at the beginning of the implementation. Further, it will help

also on the eradication of the misconception of the program.

The recommendations are not only limited on the abovementioned but there can be

more depending on the interest of the new researcher about the related issues of this paper.

References

Books

American Heritage Dictionary, 2nd ed., 2005

Introduction to Public Administration

Ashman, Kirst. Working with Communties and Organizations, 2010

Cordero, et.al. Administration and Supervision in Social Work, 1985

Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families.London: Simon and Schuster

Ltd.1997

De Guzman, Leonora Serafica. Introduction to Social Work, 1991

Mendoza, Thelma Lee. Social Welfare and Social Work, Megabooks Company, 2002; pp 1, 3,5-

7,77-78, 187-194, 512-513.

Miclat, Agrinelda. Fundamental Practice of Community Organization and Empowerment, 1991

Sheridan, Micheal J. MSW, Ph.D. Building the World We Dream about” Social Work

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Manual

Basic Training on Psychosocial Intervention for Street Children and Service Providers ( A

Trainer’s Manual). UNICEF/AUSAID/NPSC.1997.

Manual on Parents Effectiveness Seminar (9 modules), 2009

Review Notes of Social Work, 2009

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Philstar.com

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