30K families in Central Visayas to exit '4Ps'

CEBU CITY – About 30,000 families in Central Visayas recipients of the national government's conditional cash transfer program are now in the "exit process" as they progress towards self-sufficiency level, an official said Monday.

Shalaine Marie Lucero, regional director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, said this number of beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) are now identified as "non-poor" in the Listahanan 3 database.

There are 75,331 households enrolled in the 4Ps program in the entire Central Visayas.

Of this figure, 26 are now in the survival level, while 45,386 and 29,919 are in the subsistence and self-sufficient levels, respectively.

The data were based on the latest result of reassessment using the Social Welfare and Development Indicator (SWDI) tool that measures their level of well-being in terms of economic sufficiency and social adequacy.

The SWDI result aids the program in identifying the interventions needed by the family to achieve the self-sufficiency level that would qualify them to graduate from the program.

"The reassessed households belonging to Levels 1 and 2 will be retained in the master list of 4Ps beneficiaries while those identified Level 3 or (those who are already) self-sufficient will undergo the exit process of the program, which is the 4Ps Kilos Unlad Social Case Management Strategy," Lucero said.

She assured the recipients who will be graduating from the program of its continued support, as well as assistance from their respective local government units (LGUs) and other partner stakeholders, as well as interventions and services so they can sustain their level of well-being.

Based on the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 2022-001 between DSWD and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), LGUs are encouraged to enact a social protection ordinance complementing the 4Ps, including post-program interventions. (PNA)