DSWD 7 assesses well-being level of pantawid pamilya beneficiaries

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD 7) is currently conducting household validation for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) partner beneficiaries in Central Visayas.The target priority to validate are the 65,930 4Ps beneficiaries in the region who are identified as non-poor households under the third Listahanan nationwide assessment, or Listahanan 3.“We have to revalidate these 4Ps households using the Social Welfare and Development Indicators (SWDI) to determine the progress of the households,” said DSWD 7 Officer-in-Charge Shalaine Marie S. Lucero.Lucero said the beneficiaries will be evaluated based on the employable skills of members, employment and salary, source of income, membership in social security, and access to financial institutions.She added that on social adequacy, families were rated based on the members’ health condition, nutrition and education; access to safe drinking water and sanitary toilet facilities; house construction and ownership; and awareness of social issues.The result of the SWDI will determine the level of living conditions of 4Ps households. The levels include Level 1 or survival, Level 2 or subsistence, and level 3 or self-sufficient.“The results of the revalidation will serve as a reference if they get to stay in the program. This will also serve as a reference for the planning of other possible interventions by the DSWD and partner national government agencies and local government units to sustain their level of well-being. Hence, we are fast-tracking the conduct of the activity until September,” Lucero said.The household validation will be conducted by DSWD field staff that include the City and Municipal Links using the SWDI General Intake Sheet (GIS) and the SWDI Score Sheet.The SWDI GIS is a one-page profile of the household that compiles the family’s demographics and socio-economic characteristics, while the SWDI score sheet is a four-page form that gathers information on the family’s score for each indicator corresponding to economic sufficiency and social adequacy.Since 2009, the DSWD 7 has already delisted a total of 55,076 4Ps households for being inactive 4Ps households; households that no longer have eligible members for education monitoring; households that have waived from the program; households that are non-compliant; and households that graduated due to an improved level of well-being.Secretary’s orderDSWD Secretary Erwin T. Tulfo instructed the 4Ps National Program Management Office to clean up its list of program beneficiaries by identifying the 4Ps families with children who have finished their studies and have no monitored eligible children, whom he emphasized are already considered ineligible to become program beneficiaries.Based on the existing program guidelines, those who have graduated or exited from the program and were assessed as self-sufficient are being removed from the roster of active members, and they should no longer receive any cash grants.Following the current implementation of the program, the list of beneficiaries is regularly updated in the Beneficiary Data and Management System to reflect active beneficiaries who are entitled to receive cash grants, subject to the monitoring and evaluation of their compliance with the conditions provided by the 4Ps Act or Republic Act 11310.Pantawid Pamilya is the national poverty reduction strategy of the national government. It invests in the health, nutrition and education of poor households for improved well-being.Beneficiaries are entitled to receive cash subsidies provided that the conditions for health, nutrition and education are followed. These include sending and keeping their school-aged children in school, pre- and post-natal care for mothers, regular and preventive check-ups for children aged five years and below, deworming for children aged 14 years and below, and attendance at the monthly conduct of the Family Development Sessions.