Senator Cynthia Villar yesterday called for a review of the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, also known as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), after it has failed to deliver on the promise of improving poverty incidence in the country.
During the Senate briefing of the Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) on the proposed P3.35 trillion national government budget for 2017, Villar asked Budget Sec. Benjamin Diokno to review the program and find ways to improve it.
“I support CCT but can we review the model of our CCT? We have been doing CCT for the last six years, sabi n’yo nga the poverty figure did not move from 27 percent. Ang target ng Aquino administration is 17 percent but it didn’t move after doing CCT. I just want you to review the model of our CCT,” Villar said in the briefing.
The 4Ps is the Philippines’ CCT program where 4.4 million households are enrolled and provided with cash grants to improve the health, education and nutrition situation of the poorest of the poor.