House minority leader backs 4Ps, cites long-term gains

House Minority Leader Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan said he rejects calls to scrap the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, asserting that conditional cash transfer programs—including 4Ps—have been proven effective in reducing poverty and improving health and education outcomes for the disadvantaged.

Libanan said, “The 4Ps has consistently proven to be a powerful tool for building human capital—encouraging school attendance, promoting preventive health care, and ensuring better nutrition for children.”

He added, “The program works. We just need to give our poorest families a stronger push so they can stand on their own permanently.”

Libanan clarified that the 4Ps cash grants are not “handouts” but incentives conditional on children staying in school, undergoing regular health check-ups, and parents attending family development sessions.

His remarks followed Senator Erwin Tulfo’s call to discontinue the program and replace the grants with livelihood capital.

Libanan said he supports adding livelihood and skills training to benefit 4Ps families—but only as a complement to, not a substitute for, the existing monthly education, health, and nutrition grants.

Launched as a pilot in 2008 under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and expanded under President Benigno Aquino III, the 4Ps was institutionalized by Republic Act No. 11310, signed in 2019 by President Rodrigo Duterte.

The program is allocated ₱64.2 billion in the 2025 General Appropriations Act and continues to benefit millions of poor families.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reported that more than five million households have received 4Ps cash grants since he took office, with 1.5 million families “graduating” from poverty.

The World Bank has consistently supported and evaluated the program, finding 4Ps to be one of the world’s most accurately targeted conditional cash transfer initiatives and instrumental in reducing poverty.

A World Bank FAQ page estimates the program has lifted an estimated 1.5 million Filipinos out of poverty, achieving a reduction of approximately 1.4 percentage points per year through improved education, health, and nutrition.