By ANNA FELICIA BAJO, GMA Integrated News

President Ferdinand ”Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is considering the proposal of having rice as the assistance being given under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) instead of money.

This was disclosed by Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Roger Navarro at a Palace press briefing on Tuesday. The official said that if the government could convert the 4Ps by supplying rice instead of money, it could help in lowering the inflation rate for rice.

”Actually, it was suggested in the meeting that we have the 4Ps, for example, for DSWD. We told the President that if we can convert the 4Ps instead of money, it should be on rice form, supplied by NFA. So we will take them out in the price pressures of the market in terms of buying high-price rice. These are 20% all over the country which are the vulnerable poor under the DSWD that is beneficiary for 4Ps,” Navarro said.

”And we’re giving them money, and unfortunately because that is not rice, they’re going to buy rice in the market price; and that put pressure and inflationary in the market because they’re going to compete with the people who have money and then with only 4Ps,” he added.

”The President is saying that we will consider the proposal and they will take a look on how to implement this proposal,” Navarro said.

Implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the 4Ps is the national poverty reduction strategy of the government as stated under the Republic Act No. 11310 or “An Act institutionalizing Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)” that was signed on April 17, 2019. Patterned after the conditional cash transfer scheme implemented in other developing countries, the 4Ps provides cash grants to beneficiaries provided that they comply with the set of conditions required by the program. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News

Published Date: February 13, 2024