Department of Budget and Management | FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The release of an additional P5 billion fund to fully cover Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) arrear grants under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 will help ease the burden of inflation, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said.
“Makakatulong po ito para maibsan ang epekto ng inflation sa ating mga kababayan. The DBM will do its part to streamline budget processes so that our citizens benefit from faster and more efficient delivery of essential services such as our 4Ps,” said Pangandaman in a statement on Tuesday.
(This will help to ease the effects of inflation among our citizens. The DBM will do its part to streamline budget processes so that our citizens benefit from faster and more efficient delivery of essential services such as our 4Ps.)
READ: July inflation accelerates to 4.4% – PSA
The Budget secretary approved the release of the additional funding to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to cover the 2023 unpaid 4Ps beneficiaries resulting in the deactivation of around 703,888 households. The budget will be coming from the FY 2023 General Appropriations Act.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority on Tuesday, the 4.4 percent inflation rate in July was driven by higher price increases in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, transport items, and food and non-alcoholic beverages. The consumer price index grew from 3.7 percent in June, and is the highest in nine months.
“Through this allocation, the DSWD can continue its critical work without interruption, providing much-needed assistance to our most vulnerable citizens,” added Pangandaman.
Further, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reported in his 3rd State of the Nation Address (Sona) that 420,000 households already graduated from the program since his Sona in July 2023.
READ: DBM: 4Ps cash aid budget for 2024 is P106.3 billion
According to Belen Gebusion, regional program coordinator and division chief of the DSWD in Western Visayas, a household beneficiary of the 4Ps will be considered as “graduate” if it has become “self-sufficient” through the assessment of DSWD.
Meanwhile, a household will be tagged as “exited” if it fails to meet the criteria, such as having a child aged zero to 18 or a pregnant family member.
DBM noted that the government allotted a P106.3 billion budget for 4Ps cash aid for 2024, a nearly P4 billion increase from the P102.610 billion budget allocation in 2023.