The Department of Social Welfare and Development is validating the list of 1.3 million beneficiaries from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program who are no longer considered “poor”, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said on Tuesday.

Angeles said DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo made the report before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the 3rd Cabinet meeting held at the Aguinaldo Hall in Malacañang Palace.

“Of note is Sec. Erwin Tulfo’s declaration that in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program, at least 1.3 million beneficiaries out of 4.4 million are no longer considered ‘poor’ as a qualification for the 4Ps benefits,” Angeles said.

“This frees up PHP15B for other qualified persons to replace them and now be included in the 4Ps program,” the Press Secretary added.

The 4Ps is a human development measure of the national government that provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor, to improve the health, nutrition, and the education of children aged 0-18.

It is patterned after the conditional cash transfer (CCT) schemes in Latin American and African countries, which have lifted millions of people around the world from poverty.

The DSWD is the lead government agency of the 4Ps.

The 4Ps also helps the Philippine government fulfill its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) — specifically in eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, in achieving universal primary education, in promoting gender equality, in reducing child mortality, and in improving maternal health care.

The 4Ps operates in all the 17 regions in the Philippines, covering 79 provinces, 143 cities, and 1,484 municipalities.

Beneficiaries are selected through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), which identifies who and where the poor are in the country.

During the same meeting, the Department of Education for its part discussed its priority programs and projects for basic education while the DSWD did the same for social welfare. (PNA)