IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF THE TARGETING PERFORMANCE OF THE 4Ps PROGRAM IN NORTHWESTERN PHILIPPINES PROF. MILAGROS R. BALDEMOR, PhD [email protected] Professor, Mathematics and Allied Disciplines Department and College of Graduate Studies Campus Head of International Affairs Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University Philippines Introduction Investment in human development especially in education and health significantly improves a country’s chance of achieving progress. However, the government’s limited financial resources on social services render insufficient opportunities on human capital investment to achieve development. Although a wide range of social protection is in place, inadequate human capabilities, limited access to social services and inequality persist as key factors underlying intergenerational cycle of poverty. Statistics show also that the incidence of poverty is highest among families whose household head had no education at all (Monsod, 2008), with incidence falling as more years are completed. Tackling the worsening poverty situation in the country is one of the current government’s anchor along good governance since it is an important instrument in fighting poverty. The Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program of the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the Department of Social Work and Welfare aims to reduce poverty by making welfare programs conditional upon the receivers' actions. It provides cash transfers to poor households, conditional upon investments in child’s education and health as well as maternal health services. It aims to promote investment in education and health of children to help break the intergenerational transmission of poverty while providing immediate financial support to the household. The government only transfers the money to persons who meet certain criteria. These criteria may include enrolling children into public schools, getting regular check-ups at the doctor's office, receiving vaccinations, or the like. Because the focus of CCT is on the poorest groups, its impact is visible mostly on poverty gap. Countries experiencing cash transfers experience positive effects on poverty alleviation at the national level while countries with lower transfer amounts no substantial impact is seen. Adopting the CCT Program of other countries, the Philippine version dubbed as Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (Pantawid Pamilya or 4Ps), serves as a vehicle in combating the cycles of poverty in Filipino households. Through provision of conditional income support to extremely poor households, increase in investments in human capital 1

(particularly to their children) shall be achieved. Furthermore, 4Ps is also implemented through an interagency cooperation between DSWD in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP), Population Commission (PopCom), National Nutrition Council (NNC) and Local Government Units (LGU). This project supports the realization of the DSWD’s vision, mission, and mandate as the leader and champion on social welfare and development. It addresses two of the three main objectives of the National Social Sector-Social Welfare and Development Reform Program (NSS-SWDRP) of DSWD’s goals of poverty reduction and empowering the poor. . According to the World Bank, "Conditional cash transfers provide money directly to poor families via a “social contract” with the beneficiaries – for example, sending children to school regularly or bringing them to health centers. For extremely poor families, cash provides emergency assistance, while the conditionalities promote longer-term investments in human capital." At a February 2009 panel convened by the World Bank, economists noted mixed results. While CCT programs did correlate with a reduction in extreme poverty rates, they did not appear to demonstrate higher academic achievement and improved health among children who