“KUNG kaya nang taasan ang cash grant, huwag na nating patagalin pa.”
This is what AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee urged his colleagues in the House of Representatives, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the lead agency of the National Advisory Council (NAC), amid ongoing deliberations on the proposed measures to increase cash grants for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries.
“Pwedeng abutin pa ng 2025 bago maramdaman ng mga beneficiaries ang tulong kung hihintayin pa nating maipasa ang mga nakasalang ngayon na panukalang batas sa pagtataas ng 4Ps cash grants. Kaya nananawagan tayo sa DSWD na i-rekomenda at pabilisin ang proseso para madagdagan ang suportang ipinagkakaloob ng programa,” Lee said during the recent hearing of the House Committee on Poverty Alleviation.
Lee pointed out that “hindi man kasing taas ng nasa proposed bills ngayon, siguradong malaki na ang maitutulong sa 4.4 milyon na pamilyang benepisyaryo ang anumang dagdag na halaga para maibsan ang pasanin nila mula sa epekto ng pandemya at mataas na presyo ng bilihin.”
Under Section 7 of Republic Act No. 11310 or the 4Ps Act, the NAC is mandated to determine the amount of cash grants to be distributed to beneficiaries.
Section 10 of the same law states that PIDS is mandated every six years after the effectivity of the law “to recommend to the NAC whether the cash grants shall be adjusted to its present value using the consumer price index, as published by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).”
RA 11310 likewise states that “the NAC shall ensure that the grant amounts are sufficient to make a positive impact on the health, nutrition, and education of the beneficiaries and are timely received and spent by the beneficiaries.”
During the said Committee hearing, Lee cited an April 28, 2023 PIDS report indicating their proposed increase in 4Ps cash grants. Based on the said study, the following adjustments were recommended:
• From P750 to P906 increase in health grant per month per household;
• From P300 to P362 increase in education allowance per month for every child enrolled in day care and elementary for maximum of 10 months every year;
• From P500 to P604 increase in education allowance per month for every child enrolled in junior high school for maximum of 10 months every year; and
• From P700 to P846 increase in education allowance per month for every child enrolled in Senior High School for maximum of 10 months every year.
Lee also shared a PIDS report dated May 29, 2023 that said that “following the unprecedented and damaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on property and the prevailing global crisis affecting the prices of basic commodities,” the maximum amount of P31,200 that can be received by a household beneficiary in a year has been reduced to more than half of its original value to only P14,524.
“Malinaw na kulang na kulang ang natatanggap ng 4Ps beneficiaries. At nakasaad sa batas na dapat siguruhin ng NAC na sapat ang cash grant lalo na kung may rekomendasyon na galing sa PIDS. Kaya ‘wag na tayong magpaliguy-ligoy pa. Dagdagan na ito, now na! Napakalaking kasalanan sa mga kababayan nating kumakalam ang sikmura at walang maipabaon sa mga anak sa paaralan kung patatagalin pa ito,” stressed the lawmaker.
According to the Bicolano solon, “hindi biro ang report na 76.6% of Filipinos are food insecure. Apat sa bawat 5 kababayan natin ang nangangamba o may agam-agam kung saan sila kukuha ng makakain o maipapakain sa pamilya. Obligasyon ng gobyerno na unawain ang sitwasyon at umaksyon agad para mapagaan ang pasanin nila.”
“Pwede rin nating isama sa pag-amend sa RA 11310 na imbes na six years ang pag-evaluate kung sapat ba ang naibibigay sa mga 4Ps beneficiaries, gawin na lang ito na every two to three years. Winner Tayo Lahat kung mabibigyang lakas natin agad ang milyon-milyon nating mga kababayan na makaahon sa kahirapan, para sila naman ang makatulong sa iba pang nangangailangan,” Lee said.
