PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has extended the maximum seven-year period coverage of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), Malacañang said Friday.
The President, through Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, signed Executive Order (EO) 120 on July 13, allowing eligible 4Ps beneficiaries to continue receiving government assistance beyond the original limit under specific conditions.
Under EO 120, beneficiaries who meet the requirements of Republic Act (RA) 11310 or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program Act shall continue to receive benefits beyond such period, for as long as they remain classified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as Level 1 (survival) or Level 2 (subsistence) using the Social Welfare and Development Indicator (SWDI).
"There is a need to ensure that 4Ps beneficiaries affected by exceptional circumstances continue to receive adequate support under the program until they achieve the level of self-sufficiency as contemplated by RA No. 11310," the President said in his order.
"For this purpose, the DSWD shall adopt a strengthened case management system using the enhanced SWDI tool or such other tools as the DSWD may deem necessary to assess the well-being and readiness of 4Ps beneficiaries for graduation," he added.
Marcos cited the National Advisory Council Resolution 1 issued in 2026, which recommended extending the program for qualified 4Ps beneficiaries, in recognition of the long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on household incomes, development gains, and the ability of vulnerable families to achieve self-sufficiency within the prescribed period.
"The exceptional circumstances brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic severely disrupted household incomes, reversed developmental gains, heightened beneficiary vulnerability, and limited the ability of affected beneficiaries to fully realize the intended outcomes of the program within the seven-year period," he said.
The President directed the DSWD to adopt a strengthened case management system using the enhanced SWDI or such other tools as the agency may deem necessary to assess the well-being and readiness of 4Ps beneficiaries for graduation. He ordered the DSWD to formulate and issue implementing guidelines within 30 days from the order’s effectivity.
The guidelines will cover the identification and validation of qualified 4Ps beneficiaries, periodic assessments using the SWDI, strengthened case management interventions, and the determination of beneficiaries' continued eligibility and readiness for graduation.
The funding requirements for the implementation of the order shall be charged against the current and available appropriations of the DSWD. Thereafter, the funding requirements necessary for the continued implementation of the order shall be included in the budget proposals of the DSWD.
EO 120, which was made public on Friday, takes effect immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation.
The 4Ps is a national poverty reduction strategy and human capital investment program that provides conditional cash transfers to poor families. It aims to improve their health, nutrition, and education, particularly of children aged 0-18, for a maximum of seven years.
The 4Ps was launched in 2008 and institutionalized by RA 11310, better known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program Act of 2019.
