Changes and Challenges

CHANGES AND CHALLENGES
Situational Analysis Study on the

Conditional Cash Transfer
Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program
(Pantawid Program) of the DSWD in the
SOCSKSARGEN Area of Region XII
Conducted for CORDAID by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

and submitted to
CORDAID Health and Wellbeing Sector
July 2011 to August 2011
Final Report
October 2011
CONTENTS
Commonly-Used Abbreviations and Acronyms

Acknowledgements
Preface
3
4
5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE FIELD STUDY

Introduction
Approach and Methodology
Objectives
Sources and Method of Gathering
Output Expected
10
10
11
11
11
12
II
OVERVIEW OF THE AREA OF COVERAGE

Field Study Coverage
Respondents of the Field Study
13
13
14
III
OTHER SOCIAL PROTECTION PROGRAMS IN THE STUDY AREA
16
IV
MAIN FINDINGS
Regional Updates
The Conditionalities
Program Benefits
Procedures and Mechanics
Monitoring and Evaluation
Partnerships and Institutional Convergence
Partnership with NGOs and CSOs (Public-Private Partnership)
Updates on the Convergence
Programmatic Convergence TATSULO
Prospects and Ways Forward
Issues and Problems
Responses of Pantawid Program
20
20
22
23
23
25
29
32
37
39
43
44
50
ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS
54
VI
ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS
58
VII
RECOMMENDATIONS
59
VIII ANNEXES
A. The Area of Coverage
B. The National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reductions
C. Procedures and Mechanics
D. The Proxy Means Test
E. The Compliance Verification System (CVS)
F. The Beneficiary Updating System (BUS)
G. The Grievance and Redress System (GRS)
Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

Field Study on the Pantawid Program in SOCSKSARGEN
63
63
70
75
85
86
89
91
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Final Report
October 2011
COMMONLY USED ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ADB
Pantawid Program
BHW
BUS
CBMS
CCT
CVS
DepEd
DILG
DOH
DSWD
FIES
FRAME
GRS
HAF
Kalahi-CIDSS
LGU
MAFMA
M.L.
MOA
NAPC
NGA
NGO
NHTS-PR
NPMO
NSCB
ODA
Philhealth
P.L
SAE
SET-G
PMT
Asian Development Bank

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. The flagship poverty alleviation
program of the Philippine Government.
Barangay Health Worker. Organizationally a part of the barangay local
government unit, but operationally affiliated to the Department of
Health
Beneficiary Updating System
Community-based Management System. A locally driven data
collection system by LGUs.
Conditional Cash Transfer
Compliance Verification System
Department of Education
Department of Interior and Local Government
Department of Health
Department of Social Welfare and Development
Family Income and Expenditure Survey. A survey in 2006 from which
the 20 poorest provinces are identified.
Family Resource Allocation Management Enhancement. A social
protection program of the General Santos City LGU.
Grievance and Redress System
Household Assessment Form
Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated
Delivery of Social Services. An infrastructure development program.
Local Government Unit (Provincial-PLGU, Municipal-MLGU, BarangayBLGU)
Mutual Aid Fund for Mortuary Assistance
Municipal Link
Memorandum of Agreement
National Poverty Alleviation Commission
National Government Agency
Non-Government Organization
National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reductioin. The data
management arm of DSWD.
National Project Management Office. A Pantawid Program Department
in DSWD Central Office.
National Statistical Coordination Board
On-demand Application
Philippine Health Insurance Corportation, or PHIC
Provincial Link
Small Area Estimates. A means of selecting the poorest municipalities.
Socio-Economic Transformation Group. A support system found in
every community in General Santos City, that was formed to facilitate
implementation of the FRAME Program
Proxy Means Test

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October 2011
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author is thankful to all the respondents of this study: the beneficiaries, the local
government officials and personnel, and the leaders and key representatives of NGOs for the
valuable information, time and insights they have contributed to this study.
Profound thanks also goes to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DWSD) Field
Office 12 led by its Regional Director, Hon. Zorahayda Taha, and particularly its Deputy
Regional Program Manager, Mdm. Monera Lidasan, also Mr. Almanzor Dataya of the TAD, and
the personnel involved in the implementation of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program for
graciously allowing to be interviewed, as well as for providing all the needed information to
complete the study.
This study was made possible with support of the Health and Wellbeing Sector of CORDAID.
Views and opinions expressed herein are those of the consultants and persons interviewed and
do not necessarily reflect the views of CORDAID.
Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

Cotabato City, Philippines
September, 2011

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Final Report
October 2011
PREFACE
This study stems from the desire of Cordaid to help ensure that more emphasis is given to the
proper implementation and improved access of people to cash transfers and/or such other
similar social safety net programs in a given country and, thus, help strengthen the overall
implementation of these programs.
This study is perhaps one of the first if not the very first conducted to attempt to develop
an analysis of the general situation of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program as it is
implemented in the city and three provinces that constitute the SOCSKSARGEN area of Region
XII.
This study also shows what the outcome and short-term impacts are on the beneficiary families
and their communities, as observed during the study.
It also enumerates the challenges that have been experienced in the specific communities
where the study was conducted. These challenges may be used by DSWD and partner
institutions, as well as social development NGOs in further enhancing and strengthening the
Pantawid Program.
In addition, the findings may point to specific areas for complementation and convergence, as
well areas that need greater attention which NGOs may consider looking into, where they could
make the most contribution as partners of DSWD.
For the author, who may be considered an outsider looking in, the interviews with DSWD
respondents has given him the unique perspective of how difficult and challenging conditional
cash transfer programs are and in making beneficiaries understand how they could take
advantage of the benefits accorded to them. The interviews with the beneficiaries has also
given him an insight on how the poorest of the poor in the communities of Mindanao think and
react about things surrounding social protection programs that benefit them.
More than anything else, it is the realization that empowerment of the people must continue to
be one of the foremost underlying basis for providing social protection and other development
interventions to poor families and vulnerable communities.

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October 2011
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A. Context
The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Pantawid Program, or Pantawid for short), a
conditional cash transfer program for the poorest-of-the-poor families in the Philippines, is
now officially on its third year of implementation as a flagship social protection project of the
national government. It is implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD). It is aimed at reducing poverty through investment in human capital. It specifically
seeks to help poor households improve their health, nutrition and education particularly of
children aged 0-14.
The Pantawid Program also helps to fulfill the countrys commitment to meet the Millennium
Development Goals by 2015, namely: 1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, 2) Achieve
universal primary education, 3) Promote gender equality, 4) Reduce child mortality, and 5)
Improve maternal health.
Following compliance to certain health and education conditionalities, each beneficiary family
receive a health grant of five hundred pesos (P500) per month or a total of six thousand pesos
(P6,000.00) per year. Each beneficiary family also receives an education grant of three hundred
pesos (P300.00) per month for the ten (10) month school year or a total of three thousand
pesos (P3,000.00) in a year, with a maximum of three (3) children per household.
Although this initiative was started by the previous administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,
the present administration of Pres. Beningno Simeon Noynoy C. Aquino III has continued the
program, believing in its merits.
By the end of the term of office of the present administration on 2016, it is envisioned that 4.6
million families will have availed of the benefits of the Pantawid Program.
Mindanao, particularly in Region XII, the Pantawid Program has already reached a total of
137,507 beneficiaries in 55 municipalities comprised by 784 barangays, a good percentage of
whom belong to the Moro and Indigenous Peoples residing therein.
B. Purpose of the Study
The Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development Aid (Cordaid), through its program on
social protection, would like to ensure that there is more emphasis to proper implementation
and improved access of people to cash transfers and/or such other similar social safety net
programs in a given country where such social protection measures are being implemented.
Cordaid has identified the Philippines Pantawid Program as a venue for potential engagement
and partnership, as it believes that this program could provide new opportunities for families
with children. Particularly, Cordaid wants to explore how a social protection program focusing
on children in IP and Moro communities can be linked with the cash transfer scheme, or how
the Pantawid Program can be linked with other child supporting initiatives coming from the civil
society and NGO sector, among others. It, therefore, saw the need to learn more about the

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October 2011
Pantawid Program of DSWD, particularly in the SOCSKSARGEN Sub-Region of Region XII,

acquire the relevant information on how it functions as a social protection measure.
C. Methodology and Coverage
The study utilized a data generation process that took two forms, namely: Traditional research,
or documentation review, from available resource materials, and Key Informant Interviews
(KIIs) with respondents.
The two forms aimed to gain a clear and accurate description of the current situation of the
Pantawid Program in the target areas and generate insights, suggestions and recommendations
on how to help improve the situation, if any.
The study observed a sampling system which gathered data from respondents from out of two
municipalities each in the three provinces of the SOCSKSARGEN Sub-Region (Sarangani, South
Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat). Between one to three barangays were visited per municipality. Four
barangays were visited in General Santos City.
D. Main Findings and Conclusions
The study has come out with the following findings and conclusions:
In all the locations visited by this field study, the general feeling of the beneficiary-respondents
is that the program has helped to ease the difficulties being experienced by their families. On
the overall, the cash grants have lessened the financial load of the family because school and
health maintenance costs are now partly assumed by the Pantawid Program grant.
Whereas before, their children do not have the appropriate clothing to go to school, now, with
the cash grants provided by Pantawid Program, the parents were able to buy appropriate
clothing that serve as their uniforms in school.
The parents were also able to buy at least one pair of slippers for their children. There are
many children in the remote villages that go to school bare-footed. With the slippers, the soles
of their feet are not anymore as vulnerable to injury as before.
There also remains a comparatively high out-of-school rate in Moro and IP communities.
However with the conditionalities of the Pantawid Program, parents now make it a point that
their children go to school regularly. They are provided with a few more notebooks and pencils
because of the cash grants. Whereas before in Tananzang Elementary School, a student uses
only two notebooks for all eight (8) subjects, now the student has one notebook per subject.
In Kolong-kolong, students can now go to school daily faster by sharing the fare costs with
other students on board a public tricycle in a motor pool-like fashion. Whereas before, they
had to walk some distance to go to school and back everyday.
Parents in Wal, Palimbang and in Poblacion, Lake Sebu can now buy medicines when their
children get sick, or also buy vitamins so that they do not get sick easily.

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By and large, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the DSWD, as researched in
SOCSKSARGEN area specifically, is assessed as successful in terms of being able to provide a
safety net or a social protection measure to a great number of poor households.
There are, nevertheless, a good number of notable areas in the implementation process where
the Pantawid Program that leaves some room for improvement, particularly in 1) the targeting,
2) the releasing, 3) the monitoring and 4) the supply-side aspects.
E. Main Recommendations
1. On Targetting
For specific cases interviewed such as Brgy. Wal, Palimbang, and Brgy. San Jose, Gen. Santos
City, partner NGOs should initiate a move for an On-Demand Application (ODA) for a reenumeration of these places in order to correct both inclusion and exclusion errors, as well as
complaints of table surveys conducted in these areas. The barangay chairman of Wal,
Palimbang strongly believes that there are over a hundred legitimate poor in his barangay who
were not counted because they were out working the farms at the time the enumerators came.
In San Jose, the barangay hall employees themselves claim that many households in the steep
hills located at the peripheries of the barangay were not reached by the enumerators because
of accessibility problems. This was affirmed by one of the enumerators assigned to Bgy. San
Jose, though she cited time constraint as the reason for her team to enumerate the hard-toreach houses there.
2. On Releasing
It is recommended that there should be increased access of Pantawid Program beneficiaries to
the modes of releasing cash grants, particularly in the case of Palimbang, Lutayan and other
municipalities with similar situations.
Whether it is Landbank and DSWD, or NGOs operating in remote communities, there should be
initiative taken in facilitating the establishment of ATM facilities in these areas. An ATM facility
within Palimbang, or within Lutayan would drastically decrease the already exhorbitant
expenses made in traveling to General Santos City just to claim cash grants.
Since it is the Landbank who is authorized to identify, negotiate, accredit, and enter into
separate agreement with qualified conduits for the distribution of cash grants, interested NGOs
with the capacity to do so should apply for accreditation as a conduit for the distribution of
Pantawid cash grants in remote areas. Moreover, they could even make public this type of
arrangement so that NGOs and other agencies that are unfamiliar with it, but have the capacity
to facilitate it, can express interest and apply.
3. Confidence Building
Another area of intervention that partner NGOs and DSWD can look into is in building the
confidence of beneficiaries under the Program. That despite certain problems that have
occurred along the way, the positives far outweigh the negatives. The mechanics of compliance
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October 2011
and grievance should be given to beneficiaries on a continuous, more regular and broader
basis. This will help mitigate the generally fatalistic attitude of poor families, and encourage a
sense of assertiveness upon beneficiaries
DSWD Municipal Links, together with partner NGOs of DSWD should ensure that the details on
the Sanctions for Non-Compliance of Program Conditionalities are very familiar to them.
Beneficiaries should also be fully informed and completely familiar about these sanctions.
Selective or a lack of understanding and familiarity of the details of these sanctions will
definitely lead to misunderstandings, misplaced dissatisfaction, discouragement to further
comply, cooperate and participate in the program, and even disobedience on the part of the
beneficiary. The latter may also hasten their termination from the program without due process.
To mitigate continuation of this situation, clear and full conveyance of this information should
be ensured.
4. Program Support
Should NGOs decide to support the implementation of Pantawid Program, it is recommended
that they use the Public-Private Partnership framework provided by DSWD as guide in attuning
their activities to the Pantawid Program and even to the TATSULO Convergence Program
(Pantawid Program, Kalahi-CIDSS and SEA-K).
NGOs would need to attune their programmatic orientation to that of the core social protection
programs of DSWD in order to develop more meaningful complementation of interventions on
the ground.
In addition, NGOs can also complement the role of LGUs in ensuring sufficiency in the supply
side.
5. Network Building
It would be beneficial for NGOs having social protection programs to organize themselves into a
fixed network and identify a core set of focuses or convergence areas where all members of
this network could agree to work together or complement one another on a grand, replicable
and sustainable scale.
This network could have as its core sectoral focus children, women and elders from IP and
Moro communities, in consideration of the cultural and ethnic composition of the people living in
the SOCSKSARGEN area.
It could also design their primary programmatic thrusts to be attuned to the Pantawid Program
of DSWD and collectively work on the enumerated areas of possible intervention presented in
the previous page to complement the Pantawid Program.

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October 2011
I. BACKGROUND OF THE FIELD STUDY

A. Introduction
It has been established that the CORDAID thrust for the coming years is on building what is
called Communities of Change (COCs), where working together for a change in society for the
most marginalized sectors is stressed, as well as involving various stakeholders in the process.
In relation to its Social Protection (SP) Program, recent realities have made it essential for
CORDAID to ensure that there is more emphasis to proper implementation and improved access
of people to cash transfers and/or such other similar social safety net programs in a given
country. In the Philippines, CORDAID would like to explore how a social protection program
focusing on children in IP and Moro communities can be linked with the cash transfer scheme.
CORDAID has identified the Philippine Governments Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program
as a venue for potential engagement and partnership, as it believes that this program could
provide new opportunities for families with children. CORDAID is interested in exploring the
possibility of working together with national government agencies and non-government actors
in this social protection initiative.
At present, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or Pantawid Program, a Conditional Cash
Transfer (CCT) Program, is the flagship anti-poverty initiative of the Philippine Government
towards attaining the Millenium Development Goals by 2015. It is implemented by the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Although this is an initiative that was
started by the previous administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the present administration of
Pres. Beningno Simeon Noynoy C. Aquino III has continued the program, believing in its
merits.
By the end of the term of office of the present administration on 2016, it is envisioned that 4.6
million families will have availed of the benefits of this program. Selected families will receive
PhP 500 per month and there is an additional education grant for max 3 children of PhP 300 per
month (10 months per year). Furthermore families need to join health sessions (check ups for
children under 14, pre/post natal care for women) and education (85% school attendance)
However, to enrich present information and knowledge it possesses about the Pantawid
Program of DSWD, particularly in the SOCSKSARGEN Sub-Region of Region XII, CORDAID is in
need of acquiring the relevant information on the functioning of this program and how it can be
linked with other child supporting initiatives, coming also from the NGO sector.
There is a need, therefore, for a field study that would cull out from the ground and acquire the
needed information that would aid CORDAID in determining the next steps forward.

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B. Approach and Methodology

The data generation process took two (2) forms, namely: Traditional research from available
resource materials, and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs).
The two approaches aimed to:
1. Gain a clear and accurate description of the current situation of the Pantawid Program in the
target areas.
2. Identify what resources and what obstacles or gaps are present in the communities that
facilitated their present situation.
3. Gather information and partial referrals about other NGOs working with children in Moro
and/or IP communities in SOCSKSARGEN region.
4. Generate insights, suggestions and recommendations on how to improve the current
situation.
Traditional research was conducted through actual visits to relevant agencies, offices and
institutions that are directly or involved in one way or another with the Pantawid Program within
the studys area of coverage.
C. Objective(s)
The field study aimed to come up with the following:
1. A review of the systems and mechanisms currently utilized in implementing the
Pantawid Program in the SOCSKSARGEN Sub-Region.
2. Pertinent information, insights, issues and concerns, lessons and recommendations
gathered from various key representatives and of beneficiaries from the SOCSKSARGEN
Sub-Region about the current situation of the Pantawid Program.
3. An inventory of NGOs working with children in Moro and/or IP communities in
SOCSKSARGEN region.
4. A prepared and packaged comprehensive report that contains findings, analysis and
recommendations about the current situation of the Pantawid Program in the
SOCSKSARGEN Sub-Region, with an attached inventory of NGOs working with children
in Moro and/or IP communities in SOCSKSARGEN region.
D. Sources and Method of Data Gathering:
The primary sources of information for this study were DSWD personnel involved in the
implementation of the Pantawid Program, key representatives of partner agencies of the
Pantawid Program, and beneficiaries of the Program in the studys area of coverage.
KII participants shall be one of the following:
1. Employees of the DSWD directly involved in the implementation of the Pantawid Program
2. Representatives of Partner Institutions (govt or NGO) directly involved in the implementation
of the Pantawid Program
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3. Beneficiaries of the Pantawid Program

4. Other NGOs working in the region with program focusing on Moro/IPs families and children
Secondary sources of information for this study were the statistical or related literature or
resource materials that are found and are available in DSWD or with partner institutions
involved in implementing the Pantawid Program.
The study utilized participatory approaches in generating inputs, comments and suggestions
from respondents in capturing relevant data that would contribute to acquiring a clear and
accurate description of the current situation of the Pantawid Program in the SOCSKSARGEN
Sub-Region.
E. Output Expected
The following are the expected outputs:
1. Pertinent information and data culled out from currently published and circulating reference
materials and other related literature about the Pantawid Program.
2. Relevant data is gathered from selected respondents through KIIs about the current
situation of the Pantawid Program in the studys area of coverage.
3. Data is consolidated, processed, and analyzed.
4. Comprehensive report about the current situation of Pantawid Program in the studys area
of coverage is submitted and recommendations for improved functioning and involvement of
civil society.
5. An inventory of NGOs working with children in Moro and/or IP communities in
SOCSKSARGEN region is compiled and packaged.
6. Recommendations to CORDAID in relation to NGO have to engage with government, within
in the scope of Communities of Change.

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II. OVERVIEW OF THE AREA OF COVERAGE

The area of coverage of the study is the provinces of Sarangani, South Cotabato, and Sultan
Kudarat, and the City of General Santos. Respondents from one to three barangays were
engaged per municipality.
Two municipalities per province were visited in the study. Four barangays were visited in
General Santos City.
A. Field Study Coverage (Matrix)
The following are the specific areas where this field study was conducted:
PROVINCE
CITY /
MUNICIPALITY
NUMBER OF
Pantawid
Program
BENEFICIARIES
BARANGAY
BENEFICIARIES
IN BARANGAY
BY SET
EXPANSION
General Santos
City
8,556
Fatima
Tambler
San Jose
475
629
526
Set 3
Set 3
Set 3
Alabel
Maasim
435
2,357
Poblacion
Pananag
435
148
Set 2
Set 1
Banga
Lake Sebu
3,773
4,381
Reyes
Poblacion
200+
400+
Set 4
Set 2
Palimbang
6,738
136
207
150+
Set 3
Set 3
Set 3
Lutayan
4,326
Wal
Kanipaan
KolongKolong
Tananzang
118
Set 4
Sarangani
South
Cotabato
Sultan
Kudarat

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A. Respondents Of The Field Study

From Partner Institutions
Fourteen (14) respondents who were interviewed represented partner institutions from
provincial and city local government units, elementary schools, and NGOs.
NAME
1. Mrs. Lizette San
Juan-Lopez
POSITION
Provincial Social
Welfare Officer
2. Mr. Rene Punzalan
In-Charge of Local
Conditional Cash
Transfer (LCCT)
Program
Barangay Chairman
3. Hon. Hasim Benito
AGENCY / OFFICE
Sarangani Provincial Social
Welfare and Development
Office (PSWDO)
Sarangani Provincial Social
Welfare and Development
Office (PSWDO)
LOCATION
Provincial Capitol
Bldg., Alabel,
Sarangani
Provincial Capitol
Bldg., Alabel,
Sarangani
BLGU of Pananag, Maasim
Brgy. Pananag,
Maasim, Sarangani
Koronadal City,
South Cotabato
Sangguniang Panlalawigan
5. Mr. Daniel Losaes
Secretary to Hon.
Erwin Luntao, Board
Member
Teacher in Charge
6. Hon. Rene Dalingga
Barangay Chairman
BLGU of Tananzang,
Lutayan
7. Mrs. Precy Lamigo
Head Teacher III
Luhib Elementary School
8. Hon. Alfredo Belgica
Barangay Chairman
9. Mrs. Nelida Pereira
Department Head
10. Hon. Banengen Ali
Barangay Chairman
BLGU of San Jose, Gen.

Santos City
South Cotabato Provincial
Social Welfare and
Development Office
(PSWDO)
BLGU of Wal, Palimbang,
Sultan Kudarat
11. Hon. Hasim Kusain
Barangay Treasurer
12. Mr. Abdul Hain

13. Richel Ventura
Barangay
Lupon
Staff

Sultan Kudarat
Sultan Kudarat
PASALI Phils. Foundation
14. Bong Pepito
Program Officer
RD Foundation
4. Mr. Kilroy Luntao
(SP) of South Cotabato

Tananzang Elementary
School

Brgy. Tananzang,
Lutayan, Sultan
Kudarat
Brgy. Tananzang,
Lutayan, Sultan
Kudarat
Brgy. Luhib, Lake
Sebu, South
Cotabato
Brgy. San Jose,
Gen. Santos City
Koronadal City,
South Cotabato
Brgy. Wal,
Palimbang, Sultan
Kudarat (SK)
Brgy. Wal,
Palimbang, SK
Brgy. Wal,
Palimbang, SK
Brgy. Fatima, Gen.
Santos City
Brgy. Calumpang,
Gen. Santos City
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Pantawid Program Beneficiaries

A total of twenty-six (26) respondents who were interviewed were the Program beneficiaries
themselves.
NAME
General Santos City
1.
Mrs. Rocaya
Amando
2.
Mrs. Maira Alangan
3.
Jinky A. Domingo
4.
Ruby J. Orca
5.
6.
Anafe Ganados
Juliet Mabologan
7.
Linda Adlao
8.
Lydia Sukin
Sultan Kudarat
9.
Amelia Cespon
10. Jocelyn Ansa
11. Muslima Guinaid
12. Esmael Sinsuat
13. Rocaya Danding
14. Hja. Amina Piang
15. Margie P. Ngot
16. Divina Dit
17. Lolita Etao
South Cotabato
18. Zenaida B. Tuhitum
19. Zenaida S. Tuhitum1
20. Marlita K. Gemana
21. Cecilia T. Felomen
22. Rosela I. Bajadon
23. Lorna Perra
Sarangani
24. Nilda Laya
25. Jane Reyes
26. Juditha Serentas
ROLE IN COMMUNITY
ETHNICITY
Pantawid Program Parent

Leader /
Member, Womens Group
/ FRAME Secretary
Pantawid Program
Parent-Leader
Maguindanaon
Brgy. Tambler
Maguindanaon
Cebuano
Cebuano
Brgy. Tambler
Brgy. Fatima
Brgy. Fatima
Blaan
Teduray
Brgy. Fatima
Brgy. San Jose
Blaan
TBoli
Brgy. San Jose

Brgy. San Jose

Pantawid Program Parent
Leader
Manobo
Manobo
Maguindanaon
Brgy. Kanipaan,
Palimbang
Brgy. Wal, Palimbang
Maguindanaon
Maguindanaon
Maguindanaon
TBoli
TBoli
TBoli
Brgy. Kolong-kolong,
Palimbang
Brgy. Tananzang,
Lutayan
TBoli
TBoli
TBoli
TBoli
TBoli
TBoli
Brgy.
Brgy.
Brgy.
Brgy.
Brgy.
Brgy.
Blaan
Cebuano
Blaan
Brgy. Sta Cruz, Alabel

Member, IP Women
Member, IP Women
Member, IP Women
LOCATION
Pob., Lake Sebu

Pob., Lake Sebu
Pob., Lake Sebu
Pob., Lake Sebu
Pob., Lake Sebu
Reyes, Banga
Daughter-in-Law of Zenaida B. Tuhitum

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DSWD Personnel
Ten (10) respondents who were interviewed were DSWD regional office personnel who were
assigned in either the regional office itself, or at the municipal field areas.
1.
NAME
Mrs. Monera Lidasan
2.
Mr. Ashraf
Dirampatan
3.
Grace Apostol
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Hasmiah Cosain
Jennelyn Libona
Junaida Indar
Marianita Magno
Helen Bergante
Emily Alapan
10. Cristine Aradilles
DSWD DESIGNATION
Regional Program
Manager, Pantawid
Program
Regional Field
Coordinator for Region
XII, NHTS-PR
City Link Brgys. Fatima
and San Jose
Municipal Link
Municipal Link
Municipal Link
Municipal Link
Enumerator
Coordination and
Partnership FO12
GRS Focal Person
FO12

ETHNICITY
Maguindanaon
ASSIGNMENT
Koronadal City
Maranao
Koronadal City
Ilonggo
Gen. Santos City
Maranao
Ilonggo
Maranao
Ilonggo
Blaan
Cebuano
Lutayan
Lutayan
Lutayan
Lutayan
Gen. Santos City
Koronadal City
Cebuano
Koronadal City
[Page 16]
Final Report
October 2011
III. OTHER SOCIAL PROTECTION PROGRAMS IN THE AREA

The following social protection programs have been identified by the respondents of this field
study as having been implemented, or are still being implemented in their respective
communities:2
1. Family Resource Allocation Management Enhancement (FRAME) Savers
Movement a poverty alleviation strategy for indigent families which was developed
exclusively by the local government of General Santos City which officially started on
May 16, 2003.
FRAME Savers Movement is geared towards purposive savings and security of life.
FRAME was designed to empower the participants or members of these SET-Gs to uplift
their socio-economic conditions. Members of the movement are organized into what are
called of the Socio-Economic Transformation Groups (SET - Gs) at the community level.
The SET-G comprises of 30 members or more with a leader and a treasurer who collects
the monthly P20.00 mortuary contribution and voluntary contributions on education and
livelihood, and even travel by some members who choose to avail of these benefits.
each member pays P50.00 which covers expenses for an identification card - P 25.00,
passbook - P20.00 and membership form - P 5.00.
The program also involves the inculcation of transformational values which include
spiritual development, social and family responsibilities that will entail commitment,
industry and self - reliance which are taught in the weekly sessions conducted by
community leaders. They are encouraged to save for their future needs like education,
livelihood or housing needs; and in case, they are faced with inevitable circumstances
like sickness or death.
Currently, there are a total of 839 leaders and 839 treasurers, according to Osorio who
also said that the project is supervised by the Project Management Group composed of
representatives from the organizaton, City Mayor's Office, DILG, CSWDO and the Share
an Opportunity (SAO), a non-government organizaton.
In the 2010 FRAME report, 208 benefited from the Mutual Aid Fund for Mortuary
Assistance (MAFMA) for which the Savers Movement released P 1,940,731.00 in 2010.
To show how the movement has helped the members, some 3,700 out of the 17,380
family members were sponsored by the FRAME Savers Movement with Philhealth. The
total sponsorship was to the amount of P 1,110,000.00.
208 members benefited from the Mutual Aid Fund for Mortuary Assistance (MAFMA), for
which the Savers Movement released P 1,940,731.00 in 2010.
2
This list does not include the other core social protection programs of DSWD, Kalahi-CIDSS and SEA-K.
For a detailed explanation of these two programs, please refer to their entries on PROGRAMMATIC
CONVERGENCE.

[Page 17]
Final Report
October 2011
For its part, the city government extended P 401,000.00 educational assistance to 368
children of FRAME members in 2010, the same report stated.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the City Economic Management and
Cooperative Development Office (CEMCDO) conducted livelihood skills trainings on soapmaking, veggie noodles-making, massage therapy, moringa and food processing, hair
dressing, perfume-making, product labeling, packaging and costing to five hunders
(500) FRAME members. (General Santos City)
2. Local Conditional Cash Transfer Project (LCCT) a poverty alleviation project of
the provincial government of Sarangani. The province ranked 18 as the poorest province
in the country. In response, the provincial government has given special focus on
poverty alleviation and equity promotion by enhancing the capability and capacity of the
most disadvantaged and vulnerable sector through the implementation and delivery of
basic social services through this project, which is also in support of Project 1021, an
integrated development plan of the provincial government. The project constitutes
major institutional reforms towards strengthening poverty program administration and
implementation, and eventually develops inclusive and coordinated social policy.
The LCCT (short term poverty alleviation) initially provides conditional cash assistance
amounting to PHP 500.00 per month to extremely poor families in 4 disparately
barangays of Alabel (Paraiso, Datal Anggas, Domolok, and Alegria) to improve their
socio-economic condition and to become self-reliant families within six (6) months of
implemention.
In coordination with partner stakeholders, convergence projects will be provided to the
4 disparate barangays that will include livelihood projects, support to education, health
and nutrition among others based on unmet needs. Beneficiaries of this project will also
be mobilized as community development volunteers that would eventually contribute to
sustain development in their respective communities.
The municipality of Alabel was chosen as the only beneficiary of this project because all
the other six (6) municipalities of the province are covered universally by the Pantawid
Program. A total of 1,800 poor families with the most number of unmet needs from the
4 disparate barangays in Alabel are identified using the 2008 CBMS Result.
This project also complements the Pantawid Program. And like the Pantawid Program,
beneficiaries are obliged to comply with the following set of conditions as applicable:
a. Pregnant women must get pre and post-natal care, and must have a facility-based
delivery to be attended during childbirth by skilled/trained health
professionals/workers;
b. Parents or guardians must attend responsible parenthood session, women
effectiveness modular session, mothers class, parent effectiveness seminars and
enhanced re-affirmation of paternal abilities trainings
c. Children 0-5 years old must receive health check ups and vaccines
d. Children 3-5 attending day care or pre-school classes/sessions
[Page 18]
Final Report
e. Children 6-16 years old must be enrolled in elementary or high
attend their classes
f. Parents, particularly the father and other adult members
undertake or participate in community development projects
socio-economic status
g. Households must have sanitary toilet within 3 months from
payment.
October 2011
school, and regularly
of the family shall
that will uplift their
the start of benefit
Unlike the FRAME of General Santos City, which overlaps with the Pantawid Program, an
agreement has been made between the provincial government and DSWD that the two
programs will not overlap in terms of areas covered and beneficiaries served.
3. Street Urban Working Children Program (SUWCP) a program spearheaded by
the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) that addresses the growing
problem of street and urban working children by providing services in 25 cities
around the Philippines through Local Government Units in partnership with nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and the. It is a back to school program, which
provides free school supplies and fees to school returnees, as well as the provision of a
few kilograms of rice. (General Santos City Only)
4. Balik Tulunghaan (Back to School) an educational assistance program sponsored
by the local government of General Santos City and implemented by barangay local
government units for out-of-school youth and out-of-school children to increase access
to public eduation. It facilitates the provision of school supplies and school
miscellaneous fees and PTCA fees. 1,235 children benefitted from this program in 2009.
(General Santos City Only)
5. Tulong Nyo Kinabukasan Ko (Your Help, My Future) Program scholarship
program initiated by PASALI Philippines Foundation, Inc. (PPF), covering the barangays
of Fatima, Tambler and San Jose. This program provided for the supply of notebooks,
and school supplies and sponsorship of school miscellaneous fees. This program
currently covers seventy (70) student-beneficiaries. (Tambler, San Jose, Fatima)
6. Barangay Scholar scholarship program of PASALI Philippines Foundation, Inc. which
currently has 15 elementary, 15 secondary and 2 college student-beneficiaries or mixed
ethnicities. (Tambler, San Jose, Fatima)
7. Cash for Work Another DSWD safety net program, but funding is coursed through
the local municipal government. This program contracts the adult males of poor
households to perform eleven (11) days of community service at a rate of about PHP
180.00 per day. (Wal, Palimbang; Tananzang, Lutayan, Kolong-kolong, Palimbang)

[Page 19]
Final Report
October 2011
V. MAIN FINDINGS:
THE PANTAWID PAMILYANG PILIPINO PROGRAM IN REGION XII
The Pantawid Program in Region XII has a coverage that includes four (4) provinces, namely:
Sarangani, North cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato.
On a per municipality/city basis, its coverage includes thirty (32) municipalities and two (2)
cities, namely: malapatan, Lake Sebu, Kiamba, Banisilan, General Santos City, Maasim, Tboli,
Maitum, antipas, Bagumbayan, Senator Ninoy Aquino, Alabel, Matalam, Columbio, Glan,
Carmen, Kalamansig, Malungon, Aleosan, Banga, Arakana, Pigkawayan, Esperanza, Magpet,
alameda, Lutayan, President Roxas, Lambayong, Cotabato City, President Quirino, Pikit, and
Lebak.
As of August 1, 2011, Pantawid Program beneficiaries in Region 12 total 138,637, of whom
74,472 have received cash grants. This is in light of the fact that beneficiaries of four (4)
municipalities have yet to receive their first cash grant releases, while others have fallen under
the issues surrounding compliance to program conditionalities.
A. Regional Updates and Accomplishments3
The following are the reported accomplishments of the DSWD Field Office of Region XII for the
Pantawid Program:
1. Translated program conditions into local dialect for better and easy understanding of
beneficiaries.
2. Installed the Grievance Redress System (GRS) in municipalities / provinces for
transparent program operation
3. Lessened inclusion errors (beneficiaries not illegible in the program) through meetings
(MAC/ABC meeting) with local officials.
4. Gained support from UNICEF. The international body provides books and finances
trainings of Pantawid Program workers to develop their skills.
5. Merging DSWDs three prime social protection programs: Pantawid Program, KALAHICIDSS and SEA-K, to boost government efforts in uplifting lives of poor families in the
Region.
6. Enrollment rates in public schools increase, as well as mothers undergoing medical
check ups and pre-natal examinations.
As of July 2011, a total of PHP 676,001,720 has been released since 2008 up to the present
(excluding the scheduled August batch of releases).
Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, Fastfacts, Region 12 in Focus (a brochure)

[Page 20]
Final Report
These data can be presented as such:
PROVINCE
MUNICIPALITY / CITY
Sarangani Province
Alabel*
Malapatan
Maasim*
Kiamba
Malungon
Glan
Maitum
Provincial sub-total
(Total #: 7)
South Cotabato
General Santos City4*
Lake Sebu*
Tboli*
Banga*
(Total #: 4)
Sultan Kudarat
Senator Ninoy Aquino
Palimbang*
Bagumbayan
Columbio
Esperanza
Kalamansig
Lambayong
Lutayan*
Lebak
President Quirino
(Total #: 10)
SOCSKSARGEN area sub-total
North Cotabato
Cotabato City5
Magpet
Alamada
Aleosan
Antipas
Arakan
Banisilan
Carmen
Matalam
Pigcawayan
Pikit
President Roxas
Tulunan
(Total #: 13)
October 2011
BENEFICIARIES
REGION XII GRAND TOTAL
435
3,851
2,357
3,507
6,246
6,815
2,080
25,291
8,556
4,381
5,137
3,773
21,847
2,981
6,738
3,008
1,970
2,604
2,512
3,267
4,326
5,805
1,756
34,967
82,105
10,820
2,843
3,766
2,911
948
3,313
2,724
5,371
4,285
3,508
10,712
2,619
2,712
56,532
138,637
Treated by DSWD and Pantawid Program as part of South Cotabato Province

* Locations where interviews with respondents of field study were conducted
5
Treated by DSWD and Pantawid Program as part of North Cotabato (aka Cotabato Province)

[Page 21]
Final Report
October 2011
B. The Conditionalities
The Pantawid Program conditionalities are also called Co-responsibilities of Household

Beneficiaries. It covers two areas, namely, 1) health and nutrition, and 2) education. The
conditionalities are affirmed by the respondent-beneficiaries and local partner-institutions of the
Program.
Health and Nutrition
1. For Pregnant Household Member
a. Visit their local health center to avail of pre- and post-natal care (monthly for
pre-natal)
b. Avail of appropriate delivery services by a skilled health professional
c. Avail at least one post-natal care within 6 weeks after childbirth
2. For Children 0-5 Years Old
a. Visit the health center to avail immunization
b. Have monthly weight monitoring and nutrition counseling for children aged 0-2
years old
c. Have quarterly weight monitoring for 25 to 73 weeks old
d. Have management of childhood diseases for sick children
3. For Children 6-14 Years Old
a. Must receive deworming pills twice a year
Education
1. Children 3 to 5 years old
a. Enrolled in day care or pre-school program and maintain a class attendance rate
of at least 85% per month.
2. Children 6 to 14 years old
a. Enrolled in elementary and secondary school and maintain a class attendance
rate of at least 85% per month.
Family Development Session (FDS)
1. Parents or Guardians
a. Attend family development sessions at least once a month
b. Ensure attendance in Responsible Parenthood Sessions and Family Counseling
Sessions
c. Participate in community activities, promote and strengthen the implementation
of Pantawid Program

[Page 22]
Final Report
October 2011
C. Program Benefits
The program benefits are as follows:

1. Health and Nutrition Grant P6,000.00 per year or P500.00 per month per household.
2. Education P3,000.00 per year or P300.00 per month per child for 10 months a year, to
a maximum of 3 children per household.
A household with three qualified children receives a subsidy of P1,400.00 per month during the
school year or P15,000.00 annually as long as they comply with the conditionalities.
D. Procedures and Mechanics
Targeting
According to respondent-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Program, their households were
enumerated between 2008 and 2009. They were not told by the enumerators where the
household information they were gathering was going to be used. They were only made known
that it was for the identification of potential beneficiaries to the Pantawid Program during the
day of initial community assembly itself.
At the community level, respondents narrated that enumerators of the DSWD determined
poorest of the poor families by conducting ocular inspection of the houses and what furniture
and appliance it has (if any), inquiry on the income of the family, and on the number of children
in the family. For all 4P beneficiaries interviewed, they only knew that the previous survey was
used for the Pantawid Program when they were called to register and be validated at the
barangay hall on January 24, 2011.
Organizing of Initial Community Assembly (Validation and Registration Day)
According to respondents of this field study, the Initial Community Assembly was held in the
following barangays with their corresponding dates:
Brgy.
Brgy.
Brgy.
Brgy.
Brgy.
Brgy.
Brgy.
Brgy.
Brgy.
Brgy.
Brgy.
4P Area
Wal, Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat
Kanipaan, Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat
Kolong-Kolong, Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat
Poblacion, Alabel, Sarangani
Pananag, Maasim, Sarangani
Poblacion, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato
Reyes, Banga, South Cotabato
Tananzang, Lutayan, Sultan Kudarat
Fatima, General Santos City
Tambler, General Santos City
San Jose, Gen. Santos City
Date of 1st Community Assembly

October 27, 2010
November 5, 2010
November 5, 2010
March 9, 2010
December 22, 2008
July 16, 2009
May 2011
February 21, 2011; March 2011 extension
January 21, 2011
January 24, 2011
January 20, 2011

[Page 23]
Final Report
October 2011
Orientation on the Program and Conditionalities

According to respondents in this field study, aside from the official conditionalities, one
additional conditionality is verbally set forth by 4P personnel during the community assemblies:
1. To stop gambling, smoking and all other vices and undesirable activities
Conceptually, the cash transfer is coursed through the most responsible adult person (usually
the mother) in the household via credit to electronic card banking system particularly through
the Land Bank Cash Card program, or other delivery mode most feasible in areas where Land
bank and its network banks are not available.
Releasing / Disbursement of Cash Grants
For some locations, releasing is already through Land Bank Cash Cards, but for others, releasing
is still done by payroll.
If by payroll, four days prior to releasing, the Municipal Link goes to the assigned barangays
and notifies the beneficiaries if they are to receive a grant for that period and how much. After
signing the payroll, the beneficiary goes to the nearest designated land bank disbursing branch
office to claim his/her acknowledgement receipt (AR, as it is commonly referred to by
beneficiaries), which he/she turns over to the Landbank disbursing teller upon receipt of his/her
grant.
For respondent-beneficiaries in Barangay Poblacion, Lake Sebu (South Cotabato) and Barangay
Pananag, Maasim (Sarangani), cash grants are already released through the Land Bank Cash
Card.
For respondents of Barangays Fatima, Tambler, and San Jose of General Santos City, of
Barangay Poblacion, Alabel (Sarangani), of Barangays Wal, Kanipaan and Kolong-Kolong of
Palimbang (Sultan Kudarat), and Barangay Tananzang, Lutayan (Sultan Kudarat), they still use
the mode of payrolls. Most of these barangays will be receiving their cash cards on August 5,
2011.
Monitoring and Verification of Compliance
Those who will also be caught violating the unofficial conditionalities, especially right after the
scheduled cash grant releases, will be candidate for delisting as a beneficiary. As explained by
respondents, including this conditionality to the set of official conditions is an added insurance
that the cash grant is going to be utilized according to its stated purposes. According to them,
many people engage in petty gambling, smoking and other undesirable vices to pass the time.
The tendency for them to use the cash grants in these vices is highly probable, unless a clear
deterrent is put in place.

[Page 24]
Final Report
October 2011
Regular Conduct of Community Assemblies

Regular Community Assemblies and Family Development Sessions (FDS) are one and the same.
According to respondents (beneficiaries and DSWD personnel in the field), particularly those in
barangays with a total number of active 4P beneficiaries that is over five hundred (500) this
activity is done only once a month. An assemblys given topic (based on the eight modules
used) usually spans from half a day to a whole day. A Pantawid Program personnel6 usually has
a load of two barangays or about 1,000 households to monitor. Excluding weekends, a
Pantawid Program personnel can feasibly reach out to all assemblies only once a month.
E. Monitoring and Evaluation (The Internal Monitoring System)
Monitoring is conducted to assess the household grantees' ability to follow or comply with the
conditionalities both for health and education. Monitoring is conducted at the local government
unit level to determine the availability of the supply side on health and education. Appropriate
Monitoring Tools are used in monitoring the compliance to program conditionalities and supply
side to ensure that basic sectoral services are provided to help the target beneficiaries meet the
conditionalities particularly on health and education.
The Advisory Committee at the National, Regional and Municipal level have the main functions
of overseeing the overall implementation of the program in their respective levels and
undertake monitoring visits to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the program and
provide appropriate recommendations in strengthening program implementation. An
Independent Monitoring and Advisory Committee likewise is created at all levels to function as
independent monitor of the program. This is a group of imminent personalities meeting
regularly to discuss issues and concerns, provide inputs and recommend actions to further
improve program implementation.
Program impact can only be measured by doing evaluation on program policies and
implementation. For Pantawid Program, evaluation is done by an outside group to ensure
objectivity. The PMO and the field offices provide all the necessary support to the evaluating
team at all levels of evaluation processes. Evaluation is necessary in all social development
programs as it defines the effectiveness of policies set forth, the mechanisms installed and the
implementation procedures with the aim of improving the program.
The Three Systems7
Pantawid Pamilya has developed three systems to organize its implementation, address issues
systematically and effectively ensure that the program objectives are being met. These systems
are known as 1) Beneficiary Update System, 2) Compliance Verification System, 3) and
Grievance Redress System.
6
7
Officially known as Municipal Link.

Please refer to Annexes C to E for more information about the Three Systems

[Page 25]
Final Report
October 2011
Beneficiary Update System (BUS)

The Beneficiary Update System (BUS) seeks to get information that has bearing on cash
payments and continued eligibility of household beneficiaries. There are Pantawid Program
implementers/field workers including Municipal Links, LGU Links and regional focal persons on
health and education who are trained on the three systems. The BUS basically gathers,
validates, and records the changes that have occurred in the status of the grantee.
Compliance Verification System (CVS)
The Compliance Verification System (CVS) is the mechanism used to check compliance of
household beneficiaries on conditionalities on health, education and parenting/responsible
parenthood as basis for payment of grants.
Grievance Redress System (GRS)
Lastly, the Grievance Redress System (GRS) is an instrument used for facilitating due process in
resolving complaints and grievances of household beneficiaries and the community. It ensures
accountability, transparency and responsibility in program implementation.
Supply-side assessments for health and education
The NHTS-PR database will store information from supply-side assessments done at the start of
Pantawid Program implementation in each municipality, and track progress on compliance with
commitments made by each municipality in their respective MOAs. Actual monitoring in the field
is done by the Municipal Links.

[Page 26]
Final Report
October 2011
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND PERSONNEL INVOLVED
The Municipal / City Link and the Parent Leader

Direct Monitoring of the implementation of the Pantawid Program on a per barangay basis is
performed by the Municipal / City Link and the Parent Leader.
On average, a municipal link is responsible for about 1,000 beneficiary households. This may
translate to two barangays at least and four or even five barangays at most, depending on the
number of beneficiary household in a given barangay.
The Municipal Link
Before a person can be a municipal link, he/she must be a bachelor's degree holder in Social
Work or any allied/related fields
The municipal links specific tasks and functions are:
1. Provide orientation to household beneficiaries and key stakeholders household
beneficiaries, parent leaders and partner agencies about Pantawid Program

[Page 27]
Final Report
October 2011
2. Coordinate with local authorities for all the logistical processes needed for the posting of
beneficiary lists in public places, validation of information, signing oath of commitment,
Land Bank Forms and ID preparation for the conduct of community assembly /
registration of beneficiaries
3. Organize the selection of parent leaders within the parameters given by the program,
i.e. 1 parent leader to every 25 household beneficiaries
4. Plan and organize the provision of family development sessions for beneficiaries
according to the prescribed modules by the NPMO
5. Provide orientation and training to the parents leaders and LGU links at the
municipality/city level on the conduct of family development sessions, use of update
forms and grievance and complaints form
6. Keeps detailed records of enrollment and attendance to family development or parental
sessions
7. Provide inputs and clarifications to parent leaders and beneficiaries about the program
including their duties, responsibilities and rights under the program
8. Facilitate, review and submit to Operations Unit or Regional level completed update
forms, CVS forms and GRS forms (when necessary) for encoding and processing
9. Keep log books detailing dates of presentation of complaints and updates and other
transactions made by beneficiaries
10. Inform beneficiaries of the results of the grievances, complaints and updates and of
other matters raised by beneficiaries including parent leaders
11. Perform other related tasks that may be assigned
The Pantawid Program Mother/Parent-leader
The Pantawid Program Mother/Parent-leader is the point of contact between the program,
municipal link and the household grantees. She is also a 4P beneficiary and does not receive
any form of compensation from DSWD.
His/her main role is:
1. To lead the beneficiaries group in all meetings and activities;
2. To develop rapport with the members of the assembly;
3. To communicate regularly with the members of the community assembly;
4. To take lead in monitoring of commitments, compliance to the health and education
conditionalities and appropriate use of cash grants
5. To report and assist in filing of complaints and other forms of grievances on behalf of
her/his grantee members.

[Page 28]
Final Report
October 2011
F. Partnerships and Institutional Convergence

Convergence Mechanisms
1. Inter-Agency Committees (for monitoring)
The National, Regional and Local Advisory Committees are created and chaired by the
Department of Social Welfare and Development. It draws inter-agency policies for the
implementation of the program in accordance with the mandates of the agencies concerned
such as the Department of Education, Department of Health and National Anti-Poverty
Commission. Organization of Advisory Committee shall be undertaken down to the regional and
municipal levels in order to strengthen coordination in the implementation and
operationalization of sectoral activities to better execute the requirements in the implementation
of the program in order to meet the conditionalities on education and health.
a. National Advisory Committee (NAC)
-
The NAC is responsible for policy and decision making, planning, technical assistance
and monitoring.
b. Regional Advisory Committee (RAC)

-
There are 17 Regional Advisory Committees created

The RAC is responsible for the implementation of policies and plans, regional monitoring
and coordination
c. Municipal Advisory Committee (MAC) / City Advisory Committee (CAC)

-
There is a Municipal or City Advisory Committee created for every city and municipality
where the Pantawid Program is being implemented.
The MAC / CAC is responsible for:
o Ensure the effectiveness of the implementation of the program at the municipal /
city level;
o Ensuring supply side availability on health and education and monitoring of
beneficiaries compliance with conditionalities and community assemblies;
o Provide necessary technical assistance to program implementation;
o Coordinate with various concerned government agencies;
o Prepare reports with issues and concerns to submit to the Regional Advisory
Committee.
The LGU executive chairs the Municipal / City Advisory Committees. The Municipal / City
Social Welfare and Development Offices (MCSWDOs / CSWDOs) are responsible for the
documentation and preparation of the report to the committee.

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Final Report
October 2011
2. Coordinating Committees (for cash grant delivery)

A National Coordinating Committee chaired by the DSWD Secretary with LBP president as cochair, was established in 2010, as well as the National and Regional Action Centers (NAC/RAC)
to ensure faster delivery of cash grants to beneficiaries. The creation of these two bodies is vital
in the efficient implementation of the Pantawid Program. The NAC will be chaired by the DSWD
Pantawid Program Manager and co-chaired by the head of LBP National Capital Region
branches group, while the RAC will be chaired by the DSWD Regional Deputy Project Manager
for Pantawid Program, with head of LBP Regional Office as co-chair.
Convergence with Other Government Institutions
In order to steer clear of wasting resources because of overlaps and redundancies in sectoral or
geographical mandates arising from limited coordination of programs stemming from individual
mandates, Pantawid Program promotes convergence of services among the following partner
government agencies:
1. Department of Social Welfare and Development
Central Office:
a. Oversee and coordinate the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Program.
b. Chair the Advisory Committee at the National and Regional levels.
c. Jointly conduct assessment of supplies for health and education in partnership with
concerned agencies
d. Identify target areas based on existing data and select potential beneficiaries;
e. Forge agreements with the LGUs to ensure availability of the supply side
f. Provide technical assistance to the regional, provincial, city/municipal level on the overall operations of the program
g. Serve as repository of data and information about the program
h. Develop and implement grievance system for the program
i. Mobilize, manage and account program funds and resources
Regional Office:
a. Translate national policies to region specific operational guidelines to ensure smooth
implementation of the Program,
b. Coordinate the implementation/operationalization of sectoral activities to better execute
Program objectives and functions at the regional, provincial and municipal levels
c. Review and resolve all Regional concerns and requirements needing actions,
d. Ensure that supply side on health and education are available at the target
municipalities,
e. Hold regular monthly committee meetings, and
f. Prepare/submit monthly/quarterly accomplishment reports.

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Final Report
October 2011
2. Department of Health
The DOH shall:
a. Ensure representation in the Advisory Committees at the national, regional,
city/municipal levels
b. Ensure that supply of health and nutrition services are available in target provinces
/cities / municipalities / barangays.
c. Augment the LGUs logistics needs to enable them to provide the supply-side for
Pantawid Program, including enrollment to Philhealth
d. Assign/designate a permanent staff to form part of the Pantawid Program Team at the
national, regional / provincial / city / municipal levels
e. Help monitor program operation particularly on compliance of conditions for health
3. Department of Education (DepEd)
DepEd, which is mandated to provide basic education that is equitably accessible to all children
shall:
a. Ensure representation in the Advisory Committee at the national, regional, city and
municipal levels
b. Ensure that supply of schools, teachers and education materials are available to
Pantawid Program target provinces/ cities / municipalities / barangays.
c. Assign/designate a permanent staff to form part of the Pantawid Program Team at the
regional/ provincial/ city/ municipal/ school levels
d. Help monitor Program operation particularly on compliance of conditions on education
among beneficiaries
4. Department of the Interior and Local Government
DILG, which mandated to promote peace and order, ensure public safety and further
strengthen local government capability aimed towards the effective delivery of basic services
to the citizenry, shall:
a. Assist lead implementing agencies in capacitating target LGUs in accessing resources for
the upgrading of facilities to meet the MDG goals
b. Actively participate in the activities of the National Advisory Committee and Technical
Working Groups that may be created in all levels for the implementation of the Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Pantawid Program)
c. Encourage LGUs to incorporate pro-poor programs particularly on health and nutrition in
their plans and budget
d. Assist lead implementing agencies in the monitoring and eva!uation of Program
implementation specifically at the barangay level

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October 2011
5. National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC)

NAPC as the "coordinating and advisory body" that exercises oversight functions in the
implementation of Social Reform Agenda shall:
a. Ensure representation In the Advisory Committee at the national level
b. Exercises oversight functions in the implementation of the program and provide data
and statistics on poor communities in the country pursuant to its role as the coordinating
and advisory body of the Social Reform Agenda
c. Help monitor Program operations at the regional level
6. The Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank)
The Landbank shall:
a. Serve as the depository and disbursing bank of the Program (As of May 29, 2009 MOA)
b. Provide for additional payment and distribution modes of the cash grants to beneficiaries
(As of July 14, 2011 MOA)
c. Authorizes to identify, negotiate, accredit, and enter into separate agreement with
qualified conduits for the distribution of cash grants to Pantawid Program beneficiaries.
7. The Local Government Units (LGUs)
The Local Government Units (LGUs) shall:
a. Key to coordinate actions and logistics at municipal level in the enumeration process,
On-Demand Applications (ODA) and validations.
b. Ensure availability of the supply side on health and education in the target areas
c. Provide necessary technical assistance for Program implementation
d. Coordinate the implementation/operationalization of sectoral activities at the
City/Municipal level to better execute Program objectives and functions
e. Coordinate with various concerned government agencies at the local level, sectoral
representatives and NGO to ensure effective Program implementation
f. Prepare reports on issues and concerns regarding program implementation and submit
to the Regional Advisory Committee (RAC), and
g. Hold monthly committee meetings
Partnership with NGOs and CSOs (Public Private Partnership)
To ensure its success, the Pantawid Program must be democratically implemented with active
participation of civil society and the grassroots urban and rural communities.
The DSWD has, therefore, begun to engage more non-government organizations and civil
society organizations (CSO) to keep an eye on the implementation of their conditional cash
transfer program. As it expands to over two million households this year despite safeguards by
the agency, the DSWD believes that the Pantawid Program might be prone to irregularities.

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Final Report
October 2011
Such partnership is also in line with the directive of President Benigno Aquino III in the PublicPrivate Partnership, or the PPP. It is a system of cooperation between the government and any
private institutions, non-government organizations and volunteer groups which aids in the
fulfillment of the platform of President Benigno S. Aquino III on Good Governance and Poverty
Reduction.
The objectives of the PPP are:
1. To promote mutual cooperation between the government and the civil society
organizations;
2. To assist the DSWD in the implementation and monitoring of anti-poverty programs of
the government; and
3. To institutionalize mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability in the delivery
of basic social services to the poor.
Eight (8) Regional Planning Workshops with NGOs and CSOs have been conducted to orient the
latter about the PPP and the roles and functions of NGOs and CSOs as partners in the Pantawid
Program.
The DSWD started its PPP campaign since 2010 and as of February 25, 2011, and out of the
total number of participants of the regional planning workshops conducted, ninety three (93)
NGOs / CSOs have already signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with DSWD to formalize
their engagement with the program in the national level.
The signed agreement defines the roles and functions of the CSO and the DSWD in the
implementation and monitoring of the cash transfer program, including other poverty-reduction
programs of government.
These MOAs are the first signed by DSWD after the agency two months earlier launched its
engagement with civil society groups in the Cordillera for the complementation and
convergence of core poverty reduction programs of the government.
Partner CSOs may assess every step of the program in order to ensure good governance and
transparency in all levels. Training/ workshop and transfer of technology to CSO members shall
also be facilitated by the DSWD.
Volunteer organizations may also be involved in any following ways:
1. Coordinate with the leaders of Citizens Organizations for the participation of their
volunteers in the implementation of the program;
2. Participate in Community Assemblies as part of beneficiary identification process;
3. On-the ground audit of the Compliance Verification System;
4. Assist in the Beneficiary Updating System;
5. Assist in the implementation of Grievance Redress System; and
6. In the enhancement and implementation of the Family Development Session modules.

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October 2011
Bantay- Gabay-Kaagapay-Tulay
The delivery of basic social services to the poor, implementing development projects of the
Government and instituting transparency and accountability mechanisms to fight corruption in
observance of the Public-Private Partnership can be done in four(4) ways:
1. Bantay (watchdog / monitor)
This includes projects and activities geared towards fighting corruption (e.g. Monitoring
of the implementation of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, and other programs
implemented in the area, i.e. KALAHI-CIDSS, SEA-K, Supplemental Feeding Program,
Healthy Start Feeding Program, etc.; local representation in the Pantawid ProgramProvincial Advisory Committee)
NGO partners are encouraged to: a) validate the National Household Targeting System
(NHTS) list targeting Pantawid Program beneficiaries and other social protection
programs, b) attend community assemblies as part of the beneficiary identification
process, and 3) make an on-the-ground audit of the Pantawid Program compliance
verification system.
2. Gabay (guide)
This is a mechanism for extending / providing technical assistance (e.g. Information
sharing, social networking, and sharing of best practices).
The organizations can extend technical assistance in the facilitation of family
development sessions; coach and mentor parent leaders; enhance family development
session modules and other training materials; assist in the training of community
volunteers for KALAHI-CIDSS areas; provide inputs on the development of KALAHICIDSS urban; provide business development services to SEA-K beneficiaries, which
include skills and resource inventory, market study, product development, market
access, and management of enterprises.
3. Kaagapay (accompanier / accompaniment)
This includes anti-poverty projects and activities.
The NGO can partner with DSWD in anti-poverty programs such as livelihood and
referral systems for employment opportunities; adopt centers/institutions to provide
support for the residents by way of material and psychological support; adopt a street
corner to respond to the needs of street families and street children; and advocate and
organize the barangay council for the protection of children to undertake preventive
measures on child trafficking and abuse.

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Final Report
October 2011
4. Tulay (bridge / facilitator)

This refers to facilitating action, feedback and monitoring as a result of the NGOs
engagement with DSWD (e.g. Coordination and networking with other government
agencies, LGUs, NGOs and CSOs)
The NGOs can help in facilitating action, feedback and monitoring through assistance in
the beneficiary updating system (BUS); assistance in the implementation of the
Grievance Redress System (GRS); and document the experiences of KALAHI-CIDSS
communities.
As contained in the MOA, the DSWD recognizes participation of volunteers for the following
reasons:
1. They contribute in enhancing economic and social capital;
2. They serve as catalysts who encourage the people they work with to discover their
potential and capabilities
3. They offer services without remuneration by mutual efforts or by belonging to a
voluntary organization in the spirit of partnership;
4. They stimulate social responsibility and promote family and community solidarity; and
5. They can complement the efforts of the Department in achieving an effective
implementation of its various programs and services.
Donor Partnerships
The Pantawid Program is the cornerstone of an evolving social welfare reform agenda. This was
developed and is supported by multiple donors, namely:
World Bank
1. Provided technical assistance in the development and finalization of the following 4P
monitoring tools:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
Masterlist Form
Updates on Beneficiaries
Monitoring on Health Compliance
Monitoring on Education Compliance
Community Participation and Parent Education
LGU Commitments
2. Provided technical assistance in strengthening of the targeting mechanism to minimize

inclusion and exclusion errors8 and the revision and enrichment of the Pantawid
Program Manual.
3. Provided a $405 million loan for the program
8
This was prior to the establishment and operation of the NHTS-PR, or this eventually led to the
establishment of the NHTS-PR.

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Final Report
October 2011
Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)

1. Provided grant support for the development of the good governance and anti-corruption
aspects of the Pantawid Program, monitoring and evaluation and improved auditing.
2. Development of Beneficiary Guide Booklet
3. SSA Framework, tool development and enhancement
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA)
1. Provided support for the CCT program through the Development Policy Support
Programs (2007, 2008 and 2009),
2. Provided fiscal stimulus support under the Countercyclical Support Facility (2009),
including further scaling up of the program.
3. Provided a $400 million loan for the program
Korea and Japan
1. Provided technical assistant for the program through the World Bank,
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
1. Supports the policy agenda
United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF)
1. Technical assistance and fund support on the enrichment of Family Development
Session Guide
2. Support to Provincial and City Advisory Committees (PACs) as supply side Monitors in 6
provinces and 2 cities.

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Final Report
October 2011
G. Updates on the Convergence
As designed, the Pantawid Program can only be most effectively implemented, and can gain the
greatest positive impact, if a convergence of many stakeholders present and clear and concise
roles and interconnections are put in place. True to form, the various institutions involved in the
convergence of Pantawid Program agencies have done their part to contribute towards a
successful implementation of the Program.
Landbank
Aside from Over-the-Counter transactions and the Landbank Cash Card, cash grants can now be
claimed via countryside financial institutions such as rural banks, cooperative banks, and thrift
banks; cooperatives and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), and telecommunication
companies.
As of mid July 2011, beneficiaries of the Program could now get their grants from financial
institutions other than Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank).
DILG and LGUs
The Pantawid Program beneficiaries of Region 12 were given more than a month to avail of free
birth registration between May to June 2011. The Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD), National Statistics Office (NSO) and the Department of Interior and Local
Government (DILG), the signatories of the Memorandum of Agreement in the holding of free
birth registration have agreed to extend the free registration to June which was originally
scheduled only in May.
This will update the data of the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction
(NHTS - PR) and school aged children.
By and large, the implementation program of Pantawid Program in the barangay level has as
among its partner agencies the local elementary and secondary schools and the barangay
health center.
The roles of the principal and teacher in the Program are on monitoring the compliance of the
pupil or student to the minimum number of school days required. The teacher checks this on a
daily basis through her class attendance book, while the principal certifies the attendance book.
The consolidated attendance records of all children-beneficiaries of the Program in the school is
then forwarded to the municipal or city link, who then forwards this to their superiors and to
the Regional Field Office in Koronadal City to be updated.
The roles of the Barangay Health Worker (BHW) are also on monitoring, but more specifically in
the compliance of the mother or guardian of the child/children to the health conditionalities of
the Program.

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Final Report
October 2011
Though the LGUs have concrete roles identified in the convergence, local chief executives or
barangay officials do not see these roles as substantial enough. They particularly highlight their
non-participation in the process of targeting beneficiaries within their jurisdiction.
However, they can assist DSWD staff (the municipal link in particular) in the conduct of
community assemblies which are part of the program process and procedures to validate
potential and final beneficiaries. This has happened in all the barangays of the field study, as
the municipal links make it a point to engage the barangay chairperson in the conduct of the
community assemblies to validate and to register 4P beneficiaries in his/her barangay. The
Barangay government is always provided a copy of the local areas masterlist of beneficiaries.
Technically, the monitoring work of the Barangay Health Worker, who is organizationally part of
the local government of the barangay (and not with the DOH) may be considered as the
Barangay LGUs concrete role in the implementation of the Pantawid Program. But
operationally, they can be considered as part of the convergence role of the DoH at the
grassroots level.
Department of Health
RN HEALS
The DoH launched a convergence project to the Program, where unemployed nurses will be
deployed to poor communities in the country. The project, called RN HEALS, seeks to make
essential health services available to all Filipinos by training and deploying 10,000 unemployed
nurses in communities to be identified by the DOH in collaboration with the Department of
Social Welfare & Development (DSWD)
RN HEALS, an acronym for Registered Nurses for Health Enhancement And Local Service, is
expected to address the shortage of skilled and experienced nurses in 1,221 rural and unserved
or underserved communities for one year.
They will undergo learning and development in accordance with the roles and functions
required by the project. A certificate of competency and employment will be given by the DOH,
DSWD, and the Professional Regulation Commission to those who have satisfactorily completed
their requirements.
Preference was given to residents of the municipalities covered by the Health Facilities
Enhancement Program of DOH and Pantawid Program of the DSWD. Eventually, these nurses
would be part of the pool of competent nurses for later employment or absorption in health
facilities, thus addressing the inadequate supply of skilled nurses and increasing the nurses
employment rate.
Philhealth Cards
The DoH is currently facilitating the release of Philhealth cards and free health insurance to
indigent families (who incidentally are also the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Program) all over
the country. General Santos City is the first city in Region XII to receive health cards. Recipients
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Final Report
October 2011
can use the cards to avail of hospitalization, free consultation, and diagnostics from any of the
Philhealth-accredited hospital and non hospital health facilities. The cards are valid until
December 31, 2011 and can be renewed annually.
NGOs and CSOs
In SOCSKSARGEN, this field study has identified only two NGOs that have signed a
memorandum of agreement with DSWD. They are PASALI Philippines Foundation and RD
Foundation. Other NGOs that have been invited to sign a memorandum of agreement with
DWSD and have signified intent to do so are Justice and Peace Social Action Center (JP-SAC),
International Care Ministries of the Philippines, Inc., and OND Hesed Foundation.
Though conceptually NGOs having MOAs with the DSWD Regional Field Office are nominated
and then included in the local GRS committee, this body has not yet begun to operate. Of late,
NGOs have only been informed of their nomination into the GRS committee. No communication
has been received on their actual inclusion into the GRS committee yet. Moreover, no schedule
has been announced on the date of first convening of the GRS committee.
Also, though accredited NGOs with social welfare or social protection programs have already
been engaged in a workshop and were briefed about the four roles (Bantay, Gabay, Kaagapay,
and Tulay) by which NGOs could complement the core programs of the DSWD, they are largely
undefined. The description of each role serves as a guide to NGOs, who are given with the
discretion to concretize and substantiate these roles and then communicate what they have
designed with the DSWD for review and subsequent inter-phasing with the Program.
To date, no initiative or set of activities that would substantiate the four NGO roles from the
either of the two known NGOs with MOAs have been formally submitted to DSWD Region XII.
H. Programmatic Convergence TATSULO
If there is an institutional convergence in the implementation of Pantawid Program, there is also

a programmatic convergence.
The governments three core anti-poverty programs are the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino
Program (Pantawid Program), the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and
Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS), and the Self-Employment assistance
Kaunlaran (SEA-K).
This programmatic convergence is called Tatsulo, which is a compression of two words,
namely tatlo (three) and sulo (light). Tatsulo therefore means three lights. If one would
add the letter k to tatsulo, it would form the word tatsulok (triangle). Different volunteer
groups from different regions of the country were oriented on the convergence of the three
poverty-reduction programs of the department through the conduct of the Convergence
Roadshow.

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Final Report
October 2011
These three programs are focused on the protective, promotive, and transformative dimensions
in dealing with poverty at the individual, family, and community levels.
The flagship program Pantawid Program or Conditional Cash Transfer aims to address poverty
by investing on human capital particular on the individuals health, nutrition, and education. It is
seen as a preventive and protective mechanism so that the intergenerational cycle of poverty is
stopped among poorest.
The SEA-K employs wealth creation activities to the individual or an association and further
engages them into entrepreneurial activities and trainings. This program targets the
economically active poor. Specifically, it forms local entrepreneurial organizations in poor
communities and provide a system of loans amounting to PHP 10,000.00 as capital outlay for
small scale enterprise development.
Finally, the KALAHI-CIDSS promotes transformative development among poor barangays or
communities by empowering them to identify, decide, implement, and sustain social
development initiatives. The program builds social capital and social inclusion among the
poorest in development initiatives.
The KC Project aims to contribute to poverty reduction by empowering communities through
increased participation in community activities and enhancing local governance by promoting
transparency and accountability practices. The KC project has three major components: (a)
social preparation, capability-building and implementation support; (b) provision of funds for
community projects; and (c) monitoring and evaluation. Community projects range from water
systems, barangay health stations, school buildings, day care centers, flea markets and road
rehabilitation among others. In Region XII, the KC project operated in 10 selected municipalities
in Sarangani Province, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato and Cotabato Province.
An off-shoot of the KALAHI-CIDSS, the Community Driven Development-Local Planning Process
Harmonization Pilot Initiative or the Makamasang Tugon is also implemented in two phase-out
municipalities in the region.
This is how the DSWD envisioned the convergence of its flagship poverty-reduction programs as
the government targets to uplift another 1.3 million poor households next year.
In 2011, the DSWD is targeting 46 provinces in the entire country to intensively deliver the
programs to the poorest of the poor.
The convergence also seeks to achieve greater impacts on poverty reduction as it maximizes
resources by reducing duplication of efforts and enhancing operational efficiency.

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Final Report
October 2011
Recently, some 30 beneficiaries of the Pantawid Program in TBoli, South Cotabato were
awarded with PHP 300,000.00 capital loan assistance from from SEA-K Program in a bid to
provide livelihood opportunities for poorest families in the region and to make them competent
and productive members of the community.
The group was identified through assessment of the project development officers assigned in
South Cotabato. The beneficiaries are Pantawid Program members who have the potential for
managing business.
The identified beneficiaries were thoroughly evaluated according to the criteria for selection
such as business skills, and availability of resources for start-up, among others.
The beneficiaries are trained on basic business management prior to the awarding of cash
assistance.
The inclusion of the Pantawid Program beneficiaries to SEA-K is part of the convergence
program of the department in order to prepare the members for the future and make them selfreliant members of the community. Set 1 and Set 2 communities of the Pantawid Program
currently serve as the pilot areas of the SEA-K Program.

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Final Report
October 2011
I. Prospects and Ways Forward
Convergence in Targeting Poor Households

Cognizant of the commonalities and differences between CBMS and NHTS-PR, possible areas of
complementation between the two systems to allow for better targeting and efficient
implementation of poverty-reduction programs are the following:
1. CBMS and NHTS-PR are using the same set of 34 variables except for income, which is not
being used in NHTS-PR because of possible manipulation. CBMS could provide the data for
different models because it is not solely income-based. CBMS is also a rich source of
information at the provincial level that could complement the data generated by NHTS-PR.
2. CBMS undertakes poverty mapping of households to provide the necessary measurement
tools to identify where the poor are, analyze their poverty status and needs, and determine
how poverty assistance can be delivered effectively. The poverty mapping approach intends
to provide the means to help government in locating the poor, identifying their
characteristics and describing their conditions to carry out poverty-reduction programs
effectively. This method is not only approachable; it also appears to capture the
multidimensionality of human wellbeing fairly accurately.
3. In comparison, NHTS-PR only undertakes the processing of data. Mapping could also be
done in NHTS-PR by adopting the CBMS experience.
4. Data from CBMS will prove useful in validating the accuracy of NHTS income predictors,
thus minimizing inclusion and exclusion errors due to data collection.
5. NHTS-PR can take off from the CBMS experience on the partnership between and among
local communities, local governments, and trained local researchers in an institutionalized
system of regular data collection, validation, and analysis for local program development.
6. Considering that CBMS is still wanting in terms of geographical reach, NHTS holds great
promise in terms of centralizing information on the beneficiaries of poverty reduction
programs nationwide.
Instutionalization
Since the program is slated to run only for 5 years, legislation has been proposed to formally
institutionalize the program. One such bill is Senate Bill No. 3412 or the Pantawid Pamilyang
Pilipino Program Act of 2009, authored by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago. The bill aims to
institutionalize the program by formally making it the National Conditional Fund Transfer
Program.

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October 2011
J. Issues and Problems
Perception Issues
Many beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries have a different perception of the Pantawid Program
than what is supposed to be. Among these misconceptions are:
1. The grants are to be released lump sum annually.
2. The grants can be used for any household need, or at the discretion of the head of the
family.
3. The grants are also for livelihood use, as Pantawid Program is promoted as a poverty
alleviation program.
4. The grants are channeled to the local government units and that it is the local
government units who deposit the bulk grants to Landbank.
Targeting Issues
Survey / Enumeration
Though the type of housing unit is also determined in the Proxy Mean Test, there have been
testimonies that enumerators only perform cursory inspection of houses from a distance and
use the presence of concrete hollow block walls (part or full) as basis for further investigating a
household. If a house has concrete hollow block walls, the enumerator excludes the house from
the enumeration process. However, according to locals, having concrete hollow blocks as partial
or full walls of houses in a known poor community is not a reliable indicator for not being poor.
They cite that Filipinos are known to have extended family structures that provide mutual help
and aid to one another on occasions.
In one instance in Poblacion, Alabel, a neighbor of a Pantawid Program beneficiary was passed
over by the enumerator simply because she had a concrete house and a television set. But
upon closer investigation, it was found out that the television set was a hand-me-down from a
cousin, while the construction materials for their house was sponsored on a one-time basis by
family and relatives who were better off economically. Neither husband nor wife is gainfully
employed. And because they were passed over by the enumerators of the NHTS-PR, they
continue living off the meager income of an improvised sari-sari store which is actually only
one side of a waiting shed. This instance is an exclusion error.
Another testimony given was that the enumerators were not thorough in their survey, leaving
out households located in the peripheries of the barangay, which are difficult to access.
According to an employee of the Barangay Hall of San Jose, General Santos, households in such
puroks as Twok (18 HH) Tuol (22 HH), Atbag (5 HH), Tanda (35 HH) and Blala (36 HH), among
several other puroks bordering the municipality of TBoli and located on top steep hills, were
practically un-surveyed by the enumerators, with the exception of one to five families whose
houses were located nearer to the main access routes of the puroks. All of these un-surveyed
families belong to the TBoli tribe, and have small-scale charcoal making as their primary source
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Final Report
October 2011
of livelihood. They are affirmed by the employees of the San Jose Barangay Hall as among the
poorest of the poor in the barangay. This is also an exclusion error.
Table-survey
Barangay officials in Palimbang and in Lutayan narrate of the occurrence of so called table
surveys made by the enumerators when they went to the area. In a table survey, the
enumerator fill up the blanks of the household assessment form in a haphazard manner and
based on circumstantial and even peripheral information, just in order to comply with their
daily quota of sixteen (16) household. Enumerators are enjoined to complete, or even go
beyond this daily quota, because they are paid on a per household enumeration basis. As a
result, when the true head of the house attend the initial community assembly for validation, he
or she runs the risk of loosing the grant because he or she would look like he or she does not
know personal and family information such as even the date of birth of his or her children
(because she would be giving a different date from what was written by the enumerator).
Time Constraints
An enumerator of the survey conducted from 2008 to 2009 was interviewed and she narrated
that her group was assigned to survey Barangay San Jose, General Santos City. Though she
was able to complete her quota of households, her companions were unable to do so because
of the inaccessibility of the location of the households. This situation was complicated by the
fact that the DSWD gave them only one month to complete their survey. As a result, they were
unable to reach the far flung puroks of the barangay before submitting their final list of
enumerated households to their superiors.
This problem ties up with the issue on enumeration in the same barangay narrated in the
previous page.
Validation and Registration Issues
Presenting Supporting Documents A Hassle
Under the registration and validation process, the Program requires the presentation and
submission of legal documents such as childrens birth certificates, marriage certificates, valid
ID, etc. (as basis for verification of identity and age).
According to some respondents, they experience great difficulty in the 5-Step requirements of
the Pantawid Programs registration phase, particularly on the requirement to present and
submit a birth certificate for each child of the family who is enrolled in the Program. A good
number of beneficiaries needed to travel long distances back to their places of origin and
process request for copies of these documents in order to comply with this requirement. This
experience is not only a prevailing problem among Moro and IP beneficiary families in
SOCSKSARGEN, but even among Majority-Settler beneficiary families as well.
It is a habit (in the case of Majority-Settler beneficiaries) or cultural practice (in the case of
Moro and IP beneficiaries) of these families to give birth at home and through traditional
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Final Report
October 2011
birthing attendants. As a result, their childrens births are not recorded at all with the local civil
registrar.
This report concurs with the document released by UNICEF in 2006 which states that 35% of
births in East Asia and the Pacific is unregistered. Further, the National Statistics Office (NSO)
estimates that about 10 15% of Filipino children born every year is not properly documented.
Other respondents also have almost the same difficulty in presenting marriage certificates,
particularly in the case of Moro and IP beneficiaries, and especially those in the more remote
locations of the sub-region, the ritual and ceremonial act of marriage is sufficient for them as a
contract. Because access to public documentation is very low, acquiring marriage certificates
(as facilitated by the officiating imam or IP religious leader) or other documents that would help
verify ones identity is not anymore a priority, considering that it is not need in their community.
With their inclusion in the Program, and in their interest to avail of the cash grants, they were
forced to travel difficult and long roads to the local municipal civil registrars office on a workday and line up to apply for a birth certificate (for each qualified child), and a marriage
certificate (for herself/himself). This process is rendered more difficult and more costly because
they are required to pay the fees and are made to travel to and from the local civil registrars
office from two to three times before finally getting the documents applied for9.
From the perspective of the respondents, this is an unfair and culturally insensitive registration
system. One beneficiary even shared that she felt that she was being softly coerced to set
aside her cultural tendencies and comply with activities that are not her tribes just so her
family could avail of a service from government that by rights are supposed to be given to
them, and which the government is duty bound to give. But she added that she had no choice,
because the grant could help her family financially and could solve many household problems.
Baklas
In Palimbang and Lutayan, there have been several stories shared about people who assume
the identities of Pantawid Program beneficiaries on the day of registration / validation because
of their familiarity to the details of the beneficiarys family. They are popularly known as
baklas. These baklas may be a relative (brother, uncle, cousin, etc.) of the beneficiaries. For
some time, Palimbang occupied the valedictorian position in number of baklas cases
monitored by DSWD, while Lutayan occupied the salutatorian position.
Others who do not fall under the category of poor because they are gainfully employed but
have become beneficiaries of the Program anyhow, and have even received several cash grants
already, are also called baklas. In Barangay Apopong, General Santos City, among several
other barangays of the Pantawid Program areas within SOCSKSARGEN, a local official has
revealed that a member of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and a teacher are active
members of the Pantawid Program in the barangay. This barangay official carries reservations
of reporting this incident because she is known in the barangay and the beneficiaries might
9
Average processing time for issuance of a public document is from 5 days to half a month, depending
on location of agency.

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October 2011
retaliate violently to her actions. She is unsure if the City Link assigned to Barangay Apopong
knows of this.
Compliance Issues
In general, many beneficiary-respondents are not religious in complying with the conditionalities
of their cash grants. As a result, the amount of their cash grants are either reduced or
suspended. When probed, beneficiary-respondents themselves are unsure of the reason of their
predicament, or if they have a reason in mind (based on their perception), it is ambiguous or
vague.
During the field study, most of the beneficiary-respondents interviewed are only partially
familiar of the details on how to comply with the conditionalities of the Program.
The Grievance Redress System (GRS) may have been installed in municipalities / provinces for
transparent program operation, but the NGO component has not yet been activated.
Nominations of NGOs to be included in the GRS committees have been sent out, but that is the
latest development so far. No developments have followed yet.
Inclusion errors (beneficiaries not illegible in the program) and exclusion errors (poor
households that were not included in the previous survey) in Palimbang and in several
barangays have not yet been addressed or responded to, or no action thereof has been
tracked.
Moreover, the officials of the barangay local government units are apparently not familiar with,
or have forgotten about, the grievance forms that the Municipal Links carry all the time, which
they could fill up in order to request for an On Demand Application for a new survey, or a resurvey of the barangays with the highest known incidences of baklas to address both inclusion
and exclusion errors in Palimbang.
Releasing Issues
Distance to Landbank Branch
Landbank branch offices, though probably with the broadest reach among all government
owned banks, do not actually have facilities in a good number of the identified poor
communities under the Pantawid Program. Three examples could be cited: Palimbang, and
Lutayan of Sultan Kudarat province, and Lake Sebu of South Cotabato province.
In the case of Palimbang, the nearest designated Landbank disbursing branch for Pantawid
Program is in General Santos City. According to beneficiaries living in Palimbang, one-way
transportation costs for one person going to General Santos City amounts to PHP 250.00. This
is a 3 to 4 hour ride. Round trip costs would be PHP 500.00 and would have a total of 6 to 8
riding hours. This does not include the minimum 2 to 3 hours of standing in line outside the
disbursing branch to get ones cash grant. If the beneficiary is a woman (this is the case for
most beneficiaries), she will not travel the distance on her own, especially if the would be
forced to return to Palimbang in the evening hours. She would most probably be accompanied
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October 2011
by her husband. That would mean a total round trip cost of PHP 1,000.00. By their standards,
this amount is already too large to spend on transportation costs alone, unless the reason for
using it has basis. And in almost all cases in Palimbang, this amount is borrowed from moneylenders, to be given back (with or without interest, depending on the agreement) upon the
borrowers return from General Santos City.
If that woman beneficiary stands to receive the maximum cash grant of P1,400.00 per month,
that would mean a total cash grant release of PHP 4,200.00 for a quarter10. Of that total
amount, about PHP 3,000.00 would remain, minus the round trip transportation costs and
incidental expenses along the way. Though the remaining amount is substantial enough, the
loss of upto PHP 1,200.00 for transportation to and from Palimbang is unnecessary and
wasteful. Though small, that amount could have gone to where it was supposed to go:
education, health and nutrition support for children-beneficiaries.
However, if that woman beneficiary stands to receive the most minimum amount of PHP 500.00
(for pregnant mothers, or mothers with children below 3 years old), the percentage loss of
money from the cash grant would be much higher. She would have to travel with the infant or
toddler in tow (or in the case of a pregnant woman, she would have to travel in her condition
and at that distance).
If the cash grant would only be worth PHP 300.00 (say the mother was delinquent with the
health conditionalities and only had one child enrolled in the Program), then she would only
stand to receive PHP 900.00 as cash grant for three months. She would then be at a deficit of
PHP 100.00. Tendency would be she would not go to General Santos City to get the cash grant.
This is a common case in Palimbang.
In Barangay Tananzang, Lutayan, which is east of Koronadal City, a one-way fare to the
Landbank disbursing branch there is PHP 200.00. A round trip travel would cost PHP 400.00.
Money used for the travel would most probably be borrowed as well.
In Lake Sebu, which is west of Koronadal City and farther to it than Lutayan based on distance,
but has more accessibility, a one-way fare to the Landbank disbursing branch there is PHP
120.00 to PHP 150.00. A round trip would cost PHP 240.00 to PHP 300.00.
In one instance, a pregnant woman who was going to Koronadal City to withdraw her cash
grant was part of a vehicle accident along the way and died.
Electronic Issues
A beneficiary checked the account balance of her Landbank cash card in the ATM facility11 of
the ICTUS branch office in Poblacion, Lake Sebu to determine if the pre-announced cash grants
have already been placed in their cash card accounts. Her balance inquiry turned out positive.
10
There are some releases that are once in every two months, thus reducing the total amount of cash
grant per release, though increasing the frequency of releases.
11
Transactions using Landbank cash cards can be done with ATM facilities that are members of
ExpressNet, BancNet, and MegaLink.

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October 2011
According to her, she did not withdraw the money in the ICTUS managed ATM. Instead, she
traveled down to Koronadal City to withdraw the cash grant from the Landbank branch there
and purchase supplies for her children12. However, upon attempting to withdraw the cash grant,
the ATM informed her that her account balance was zero. She returned empty handed to Lake
Sebu and was not able to purchase the school supplies needed by her children.
If and when this complaint would be addressed, the amount would most probably be released
three months after the case was lodged, which would be during the next releasing date. She
would effectively would have to waited for six months, or half a year.
One case in Lake Sebu reported not being able to access her cash card account, much more
withdraw cash grant because the pin code that was provided to her was wrong (or from the
side of a Landbank employee, perhaps read wrongly, like the number 0 and the letter O.
Lining-up Problems
There was one case narrated by a beneficiary respondent from Kolong-Kolong, Palimbang
where a Manobo mother-beneficiary travelled to General Santos City with her baby on a slingcrib around her torso (baby is positioned on her chest diagonally) to get her cash grant. She
had to line up for at least more than two hours, along with over a thousand other beneficiaries
from her area under the heat of midday sun outside the Landbank disbursing branch in General
Santos City13. When she finally entered the bank premises, the temperature dropped drastically
from very hot to very cold. She stayed inside the bank for almost an hour and eventually she
left the premises after getting her cash grant, returning to the extreme heat outside. As she
was exiting the door of the bank, she checked on her baby to see if the baby was okay, but
found that the baby was dead.
Wrong Usage of Cash Grants
Also in Barangay Tananzang, Lutayan, as a practice of many beneficiaries of Pantawid Program,
once they know that a releasing date is near, and they have verified (through the pre-cash card
system of payrolls and ARs) that they have a cash grant to receive, they loan the amount from
others and purchase what is needed by their children prior to the actual arrival of the cash
grant.
If they use the cash grant in other ways instead of paying the amount to the people who loaned
to them in advance, then they would be unable to pay their debt. This may create a new cycle
of indebtedness for the beneficiary.
In Barangay Apopong, General Santos City, a Pantawid Program beneficiary was caught
gambling by a barangay official (kagawad) right after receiving her cash grant. She was firmly
admonished by the official. But the official believes there are others who gamble away their
cash grants secretly.
12
School supplies are cheaper in Koronadal City than in Lake Sebu.

At the time of this field study, Pantawid Program beneficiaries from Palimbang have not yet been
issued their Landbank cash cards.
13

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October 2011
Supply-Side Issues
According to Mrs. Nelida Pereira, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office of South
Cotabato, if there is an area where NGOs can make the greatest positive impact in support of
the Pantawid Program and in the overall social protection work for children in the communities,
it would be in helping to ensure that the supply side on both educational and health
components is sufficient to the present demand.
In a recent stakeholders workshop where Mrs. Pereira was a participant, representatives from
the Regional DOH and DepEd offices affirmed that poor LGUs are having problems in matching
the volume of the educational and health supply demands.
The lack of textbooks for pupils and the basic teaching materials for teachers are among the
most glaring gaps in the supply side. In other words, the Pantawid Program may have
facilitated an increase in student attendance in schools and in mothers and children availing of
basic maternal and child health care services in the barangay health centers, but the quality of
education that pupils may receive daily in their classrooms and the quality of health services
that mothers and children may receive in the health centers are very low.
The present difficult situation on the supply side of the conditional cash transfer process defeats
the purpose of the cash grants. If this is not addressed, then the Philippines may end up
investing on the development of human capital that is bereft of quality educational background,
that is not healthy, and that remains malnourished.
Personnel Issues
All of the five (5) municipal links interviewed lament the relatively low monthly allocation for
travel expenses (PHP 5,000.00). Based on their experience, such an amount would be viable if
in an urban setting, where vehicle fares are standard. However, going to such barangays as San
Jose (Gen. Santos City), Tananzang (Lutayan), Luhib (Lake Sebu), and the entire of Palimbang
would entail a considerably higher amount to go around in.
In addition, the parent leaders have been praised by their municipal links of their sense of
dedication and commitment to help out and make the Program work. But the entire process has
seemed to overlook that fact that she is a beneficiary as well. She too belongs to the poor. She
therefore does not have the monetary resources to go around and mobilize or organize
simultaneously with the municipal link.

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October 2011
K. Responses of Pantawid Program

Perception Issues
DSWD Region XII allocated some P1.87 million for the implementation of a region-wide
information and education campaign for the Pantawid Program early this year.
The funds was mainly be used for the implementation of various advocacy programs that would
help further promote and increase public awareness regarding the Pantawid Program.
A plan was designed that is appropriate for Region 12 communication needs. various activities
were identified for the stakeholders using the TRIP (TV, Radio, Internet and Print media).
The allocation was released by the DSWD central office following a week-long communication
planning workshop for Pantawid Program information officers in the country. Each region was
allotted P1.8 million for the implementation of their communication plans for this year.
Approved regional communication plans mainly comprise the agencys national communication
plan for the Pantawid Program.
Based on their prepared Pantawid Program communication plan for this year, initiatives would
focus on the launching of advocacy activities that will help the people change their perception
on the governments effort to reduce poverty incidence and better understand the mechanics of
the program.
The lined up activities included a fun run, band competition and a stakeholders forum. The
stakeholders forum involved prominent personalities who were supporting the national
governments three core poverty reduction programs Pantawid Program, KALAHI-CIDSS, and
SEA-K (also known as TATSULO).
Validation and Registration Issues
Last March 20, 2011, the DSWD, National Statistics Office, and Department of the Interior and
Local Government signed a Memorandum of Agreement on free birth registration for Pantawid
Pamilya grantees in Region XII, mandating all Municipalities covered by the Program to support
the Free Birth Registration Project. All City/Municipal Civil Registrars in Pantawid Program
areas were enjoined to accept both timely and delayed birth registrations for the entire month
of May 2011. Timely and delayed birth registrations were free of charge for Pantawid Program
beneficiary families and school aged children.
On August 9, 2011, the Mayor of the municipality of Malungon organized and officiated a mass
wedding for 194 IP (Blaan and Tagakaulo tribes) couples living in tribal villages in Sitio
Dalamuan, Barangay Lutay of Malungon. Malungon is a Pantawid Program municipality. The
mayor, Hon. Reynaldo Constantino, said he did it because there were many IPs who were
deprived of government services such as the Pantawid Program simply because they did not
have the necessary documents, such as marriage certificates.
No reports yet have been acquired on the success rate of this response.
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October 2011
This response never happened in the previous years for beneficiaries from the older Sets (1 to
3) of the Program. They had to exert effort in processing the documents from the NSO and the
local civil registrar, and had to spend money comparable to the anticipated cash grant for
affidavits and for transportation expenses just to complete the registration requirements.
For cases in exclusion errors and inclusion errors, the On-Demand Application (ODA) for a reenumeration of poor households in a barangay can correct leakages, or include deserving poor
households that were inadvertently excluded in the previous full enumeration
Releasing Issues
For Lake Sebu, Landbank engaged in a MOA with the Integrated Cooperative Towards Unified
Service (ICTUS) so that the ATM facility at the latters Lake Sebu Branch Office could now be
used to release cash grants to Pantawid Program cash card holders.
Compliance Issues
Education Compliance
DSWD claims that the effectivity of the Compliance Verification System (CVS) for schools is
satisfactory. Class advisers record the daily attendance of the students and determine if they
have been present in class for at least 85% of the total number of school days per month. This
recorded attendance is then certified by the principal of the school. Any absences incurred
beyond the maximum allowed will be excused provided that a medical certification is provided
to show validity of absence.
On the part of the principals and teachers, they give allowance and a certain degree of leniency
to students who have gone beyond the minimum allowed absences per month, but whose
added absences are with valid reasons (actual sickness, emergency situations in the family,
etc.). This situation is especially the case in rural areas where the barangay health center is far
away from the childs school and house, or there is no doctor or nurse who could furnish the
parents with a medical certification of their childs sickness.
Health and Nutrition
Several respondents have cited that they had complied with the health and nutrition
conditionalities set forth, but upon checking of their cash grants, the health and nutrition
portion of the cash grant was deducted from the amount (PHP 500.00), consequently
discouraging the beneficiaries.
In some cases, the barangay health worker only reports to the barangay health center once a
week or even once a month. At this frequency, beneficiaries would have to crowd the center
during the times that the worker is present and wait in a very long line in order to get the
certification of compliance. Under this condition, the worker would be forced to drastically lower
the standards of the health compliance requirements (and consequently the health service that
is supposed to be provided) just to dispose of the lined up crowd as fast as possible
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Updating Issues
In the case of one respondent from Brgy. Poblacion, Alabel, Sarangani Province, her name was
on the regular payroll twice, but she never got her AR when she lined up in the designated
Landbank disbursing branch office.
To complicate matters, she did not complain about this to her designated parent-leader nor to
her municipal link. She just held it as a grudge and kept it to herself. She subsequently stopped
complying with the conditions of the Program. She claimed that she decided to stop because it
was useless and that the Program forgot her. When asked why she did not submit her
complaint to the parent-leader, or to the municipal link, she answered that the two might get
angry. She also added that it had already been several months since she first made her
complaint, but nothing happened. She was assured that her complaint would be addressed and
her compliance status would be updated, but nothing happened.
Releasing Issues
Cash Cards
A respondent in Poblacion Lake Sebu recounted a co-beneficiarys experience, where she did a
balance inquiry of her cash card in the atm machine stationed at the ICTUS Lake Sebu Office to
determine if her grant was already in her account. After determining that the grant was already
debited to her cash card, she traveled down to Koronadal City where she planned to withdraw
the amount in the cash card and purchase her childrens needs in the city. But upon attempting
to withdraw said amount in the atm machine of Landbank in Koronadal City, the cards balance
suddenly became empty for no known reason.
ARs
Because of the cases of table surveys in Lutayan and Palimbang, there had been stories
narrated that some individuals who allegedly pose as proxy of actual beneficiaries were able
to encash a bundle of ARs.
Un-announced Grant Reductions
Almost all respondents complained about the sudden reduction of grant amount for the month
of April and May without any notification on the basis of the reduction.
The beneficiaries somehow are unfamiliar with that portion of the grant for education which
states that said component of the grant is only for ten months out of the twelve in a year,
because there are no classes during April and May. As such, no educational component of the
grant was released for those months, only the health component of the grant was released14
14
Provided the conditionalities were complied with

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Final Report
October 2011
Grievance and Redress System (GRS) Issues

Many beneficiaries claim that they are uncomfortable with using the GRS should there be a
need.
Personnel Issues
To address the apparent overload in work at the barangay level, the DSWD has recently hired
Social Welfare Assistants (SWAs) to help in the collection of compliance forms from schools and
health centers, as well as Administrative Assistants in the provincial and regional levels to
delegate administrative workloads therein.

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October 2011
V. ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS
The NHTS-PR as a targeting tool

Government agencies like the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) have already
forged agreements with the DSWD to use the NHTS-PR database for their program planning
and identification of beneficiaries.
With such information, agencies can direct resources to the ones who need them the most.
With the use of the database, projects like electrification can be concentrated on areas with
high incidence of poverty, uplifting the community economic sustainability and reducing
poverty. The system can also correlate other poverty related problems like human trafficking in
order to prevent them from even happening.
Since the NHTS-PR is technically an information management system, it is very reliant on
technology. It uses Open Technologies as the primary software backbone and the latest
multiple processor servers available at the time.
Nonetheless, ambiguities are present, not in the NHTS-PR per se, but in the process of
acquiring the data from the households. In particular, the term household head may not
necessarily mean mother-of-the-family.
During the field studys interview with Pantawid Program beneficiaries, it was observed that the
term household head could either mean father-of-the-family or mother-of-the-family. Though
it would be the usual practice to identify the mother-of-the-family as household head on the
household assessment form. Certain situations and conditions have caused the enumerator to
identify the father-of-the-family as the household head. Among these variables are:
1. The presence of the father at home and the absence of the mother during the day of
enumeration
2. The father being unemployed as well
3. The refusal of the mother to be identified as the household head
There have also been situations observed which had the grandmother (or grandparents) of the
children as the identified household head instead of the parents. Reasons for these are:
1. Abandonment of the parents responsibility to rear the children in favor of the
grandparents
2. Death of the remaining parent (if single parent)
3. Incapacity (disability) of the remaining parent (if single parent)
Registration and Validation
The complaint of respondents on the hassles experienced in order to produce birth certificates
and a marriage certificate as being unfair and culturally insensitive is with basis. A conditional
cash transfer program is a system that requires documentation. However, in the context of the
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October 2011
Moro and IP (particularly the latter), documentation of births and marriages is not a concern for
them. In a way, this is perceived as a form of coercion upon them to do something that they
are not culturally used to do.
Releasing of Cash Grants
The modes of cash distribution, particularly to address the problems of distance and
accessibility of remote rural communities to designated Landbank disbursing branches have not
been fully addressed by DSWD and Landbank.
However, the case may also be that there is a lack of institutions possessing the inherent
capacity and the willingness to be accredited by Landbank as conduits in the distribution of cash
grants to remote communities, particularly in the southern half of Mindanao, where the peace
and order situation is unpredictable.
Amount of Cash Grants
A family of five in the Philippines needs to have a minimum monthly income of PhP7,017 per
month to meet its basic food and nonfood requirements. The said amount of cash grant is only
a fifth (20.1%) of the monthly poverty threshold in 2009. Although the intent is not to promote
mendicancy and dependency on the part of the beneficiaries a slight increase in the amount of
the cash grant should be considered, at PHP 600.00 for the health and nutrition grant (from
PHP 500.00) and PHP 400.00 for the education grant per child (from PHP 300.00).
Grievance and Redress System
It is observed that beneficiaries have a fatalistic attitude on the way their welfare is being
protected, even by a safety net mechanism such as Pantawid Program. They lack the
assertiveness to make use of the safeguard mechanisms of the Grievance and Redress System.
They have the tendency of merely keeping silent about it and carrying a grudge against either
the parent leader, the city or municipal link, or even DSWD and the government as a whole for
overlooking or neglecting her welfare and rights as grantees. Even if an honest technical or
clerical error on the part of the personnel in charge of updating the list of grantees (Beneficiary
Updating System) had caused the overlooking or neglect, this would subsequently lead most
of the beneficiaries to stop complying with the conditions of the Program simply out of
discouragement.
Family Development Sessions and the Eight Modules
It is unclear what the basis is for arranging the sequence and progression of the FDS modules,
but it appears that it is not arranged according to urgency.
Financial management, as a skill for home managers, is of the utmost urgency in terms of
capacitating the heads of the families of Pantawid Program beneficiaries. There have been
hundreds of stories that recount how the cash grant had been misused or misspent by the
heads of the family. It is not that the municipal and city links are remiss in their duties. It is just

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October 2011
that the topic on financial management is incorporated in the 8th module, which is on home
management, and it is the last module to be taught to the beneficiaries during the FDS series.
If the home development module would be taught first, or at least second after Understanding
Myself and then Responsible Parenthood, the probability of misuse or misspending the cash
grant would be reduced. Parents would be more conscious and more discerning on where to
use the cash grant.
Equally urgent and seemingly out of sequence is Responsible Parenthood, which is placed as
module 5. Values formation for the head of the family should be addressed in advance in order
for them to understand and internalize the importance of their role and that it behooves them
to assume full responsibility for and be concerned about the well being of the children, despite
the seemingly unending social problems they face everyday that usually consumes their time.
Monitoring and Sanctions
It is observed that beneficiaries are not as informed and familiar with the details of the
Sanctions for Non-Compliance of Program Conditionalities. When asked about the details of
the conditions (first offense, second offense, third offense) which would lead to termination or
suspension of their cash grant (fully or partially), practically all of the beneficiaries could not
give a satisfactory answer. Only the parent-leaders who were interviewed were able to provide
satisfactory answers about the topic, but their knowledge about it is not upto acceptable
standards.
Area-Specific Nuances
No discernable nuance on an area-specific basis was determined by the field study, except that
in a portion of the Pantawid Program coverage areas, the beneficiaries are still released of their
cash grants through the payroll acknowledgement receipt system, instead of through ATM
facilities using the Landbank cash cards. These have yet to be released to them.
Area-to-Intervention Disparity
It seems that, because the Pantawid Program is designed to target and service the poorest of
families (who happen to be located in the poorest and most remote, or least accessible
communities, for the most part), the obvious challenge that all involved in program
implementation is now facing is how to systematically mitigate vulnerabilities in education,
health and nutrition in a location where there is a lack (or even a near absence of) education,
health and nutrition infrastructures.
As an example, in northern Palimbang, a local armed conflict occurred in mid-June 2011,
causing the displacement of about 6,000 people. Most of them had crossed the bay southward
and temporarily lived in evacuation camps in Barangay Poblacion and the surrounding
barangays. A few weeks later, the 7 month old baby of a young IDP couple was diagnosed with
dehydration by the resident doctor of the municipalitys Rural Health Unit. But because of the
absence of health facilities that could have addressed the babys problem, all the doctor could
do was enjoin the young family to travel to General Santos City as soon as possible and admit
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October 2011
the baby in one of the public hospitals there which had more complete facilities. The problem
was that the young couple did not have enough money to bring the baby to General Santos
City. The municipal government had an ambulance, but policy allegedly required any user of the
vehicle to pay PHP 3,000.00 for fuel and the drivers tip. The private commercial vans were
even more expensive at PHP 5,000.00. Using only his motorcycle, the young couple attempted
to leave Palimbang, now with the grandmother in tow because someone needed to keep the
babys dextrose pack constantly above the baby. Even before crossing the borders of the
municipality, the babys vital signs had dropped so low that it would be impossible for her to
survive the long journey. She had to be returned to the Rural Health Unit for emergency
treatment, but the baby was not able to make it back.
In another example, practically all of the 200 families in Barangay Tananzang, Lutayan are
Pantawid Program beneficiaries. And because of the compliance to conditionalities, the Teacherin-Charge (TIC) of the Tananzang Elementary School, Mr. Daniel Losaes reported a rise in
number of students from 163 to 211, excluding 37 pre-school pupils for the current year. As a
result, Tananzang Elementary School had a complete set of grade levels (Grades 1 to 6) plus a
full pre-school level. The problem, however, was that there were only four classrooms
constructed and there were only four teachers assigned there. To make do with what they had.
The pre-schoolers had their classes in the mini-gym nearby; while the grades 1 and 2 classes
and the grades 3 and 4 classes were combined in just one classroom (to take the same subject
matter together).This does not even mention the extent of the lack of the school on the supply
side. The teachers there experience constant difficulty in trying to creatively teach their
students lessons for the day without the use of teaching aides and accessories that would help
facilitate the learning process and increase the retention rates of students.
The above mentioned situations, particularly the inability of education and health infrastructures
to respond to the needs of the community where the Pantawid Program happens to be
implemented, could defeat the essence and purpose of the Program in terms of mitigating
vulnerabilities and increasing capacities among the poor.
Although there is a conditionality for LGUs where, in the event that a barangay is not prepared
to meet the supply-side requirements, the LGU will be given six months to address the
problem/s before program implementation may start, the effectivity of this mechanism does not
only have an implication on the barangays budget, it also is dependent on the size of the
Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of the barangay. In the case of Barangay Tananzang, since it
is a newly created barangay, it receives a PHP 20,000 monthly allotment from its mother
barangay, Barangay Palavilla, Lutayan. The difference between the allotment of Barangay
Tananzang and the average poor Pantawid Program barangay is small. These barangays do not
have the resources needed to comply with the supply-side requirements.
Absence of NCIP in Institutional Partnership
The Nation Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) does not have a direct convergence role
in the implementation of the Pantawid Program, except to support and affirm locations where
Indigenous Peoples (IPs) are found which is part of the Pantawid Program implementation
areas.

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It is surmised that the non-inclusion of the NCIP therein is due to the fact that the roles,
functions and services needed in the effective implementation of the Program are already
embedded in the other agencies, considering that Indigenous Peoples are already included as
among the targeted beneficiaries in the overall operations of the Program.
VI. ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS
In all the locations visited by this field study, the general feeling of the beneficiary-respondents
is that the program has helped to ease the difficulties being experienced by their families. On
the overall, the cash grants have lessened the financial load of the family because school and
health maintenance costs are now partly assumed by the Pantawid Program grant.
Whereas before, their children do not have the appropriate clothing to go to school, now, with
the cash grants provided by Pantawid Program, the parents were able to buy appropriate
clothing that serve as their uniforms in school.
The parents were also able to buy at least one pair of slippers for their children. There are
many children in the remote villages that go to school bare-footed. With the slippers, the soles
of their feet are not anymore as vulnerable to injury as before.
There also remains a comparatively high out-of-school rate in Moro and IP communities.
However with the conditionalities of the Pantawid Program, parents now make it a point that
their children go to school regularly. They are provided with a few more notebooks and pencils
because of the cash grants. Whereas before in Tananzang Elementary School, a student uses
only two notebooks for all eight (8) subjects, now the student has one notebook per subject.
Parents are also now more active in attending PTCA15 meetings
In Kolong-kolong, students can now go to school daily faster by sharing the fare costs with
other students on board a public tricycle. Whereas before, they had to walk some distance to
go to school and back everyday.
Parents in Wal, Palimbang and Poblacion, Lake Sebu can now buy medicines when their
children get sick, or also buy vitamins so that they do not get sick easily.
By and large, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the DSWD, as researched in
SOCSKSARGEN area specifically, is assessed as successful in terms of being able to provide a
safety net or a social protection measure to a great number of poor households. However, there
are a good number of notable areas in the implementation process where the Pantawid
Program that has a considerable room for improvement, particularly in 1) the targeting, 2) the
releasing, 30 the monitoring and 4) the supply-side aspects.
15
Parent-Teacher Association

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VII. RECOMMENDATIONS
Targeting
For specific cases interviewed such as Brgy. Wal, Palimbang, and Brgy. San Jose, Gen. Santos
City, partner NGOs should initiate a move for an On-Demand Application for a re-enumeration
of these places in order to correct both inclusion and exclusion errors, as well as complaints of
table surveys conducted in these areas. The barangay chairman of Wal, Palimbang strongly
believes that there are over a hundred legitimate poor in his barangay who were not counted
because they were out working the farms at the time the enumerators came.
There is still over 2 million poor remaining out there that the government still wants to reach
out to. For subsequent targeting activities by the NHTS-PR in SOCSKSARGEN and Region XII,
partner NGOs should engage with the DSWD and the NHTS-PR and level off with them in
developing mechanisms where the NGOs and the barangay councils of these new areas would
work closely with the NHTS-PR and the enumerators themselves so that margins of error in
targeting the poor would be further lessened.
Releasing of Cash Grants
It is recommended that there should be increased access of Pantawid Program beneficiaries to
the modes of releasing cash grants, particularly in the case of Palimbang, Lutayan and other
municipalities with similar situations.
Whether it is Landbank and DSWD, or NGOs operating in remote communities, there should be
initiative taken in facilitating the establishment of ATM facilities in these areas. An ATM facility
within Palimbang, or within Lutayan would drastically decrease the already exhorbitant
expenses made in traveling to General Santos City just to claim cash grants.
Since it is the Landbank who is authorized to identify, negotiate, accredit, and enter into
separate agreement with qualified conduits for the distribution of cash grants, interested NGOs
with the capacity to do so should apply for accreditation as a conduit for the distribution of
Pantawid Program cash grants in remote areas.
Confidence Building
Another area of intervention that partner NGOs and DSWD can look into is in building the
confidence of Pantawid Program beneficiaries in the Program. That despite certain problems
that have occurred along the way, the positives far outweigh the negatives.
Although the timeframe for DSWD personnel in resolving an issue or problem on the ground is
about one month, in most cases, the changes would be felt on a per releasing date basis, like
for example an error in reduction of amount of cash grant, where the beneficiary was religious
in complying with the conditionalities, but was inadvertently deducted of her health grant. While
the subsequent correction may have been encoded into the database, the actual retroactive
effect of that correction would only be felt on the next cash grant release. If cash grants are
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released quarterly, then the beneficiary who experienced this inadvertent deduction would have
to wait for six months or half a year before she is recompensed. This could be a devastating
blow to the beneficiary. To be made to wait for half a year would truly be discouraging.
It is, therefore, either a confidence building measure is put in place to soften the blow of such
occurrences, or the resolution time of a grievance is shortened so that the waiting time of the
beneficiary would subsequently be shortened as well.
Sanctions to Non-Compliance
DSWD Municipal Links, together with partner NGOs of DSWD should ensure that the details on
the Sanctions for Non-Compliance of Program Conditionalities are very familiar to them.
Beneficiaries should also be fully informed and completely familiar about these sanctions.
Selective or a lack of understanding and familiarity of the details of these sanctions will
definitely lead to misunderstandings, misplaced dissatisfaction, discouragement to further
comply, cooperate and participate in the program, and even disobedience on the part of the
beneficiary. The latter may also hasten their termination from the program without due process.
To mitigate continuation of this situation, clear and full conveyance of this information should
be ensured and repeated as often as possible for purposes of retention.
Pantawid Program Support
Should NGOs decide to support the implementation of Pantawid Program, it is recommended
that they use the Public-Private Partnership framework provided by DSWD as guide in attuning
their activities to the Pantawid Program and even to the TATSULO Convergence Program
(Pantawid Program, Kalahi-CIDSS and SEA-K).
NGOs would need to attune their programmatic orientation to that of the core social protection
programs of DSWD in order to develop more meaningful complementation of interventions on
the ground.
Areas of intervention that are attuned to the four roles (Gabay, Tulay, Bantay, Kaagapay) may
include the following:
7. Facilitating institution-building to the local assemblies initially organized by Pantawid
Program towards becoming a more sustainable support system, which could also serve
as platform for greater capacities in other social protection measures and for specific
sectors in the community (women, children, elderly, etc) which they could diversify into.
8. Federating local assemblies in a municipality / city and facilitating their inclusion in
participatory decision making processes of local government and its local special bodies
as representative of the poor and vulnerable sectors, particularly in areas which affect
them.
9. Extend technical assistance in the facilitation of family development sessions; coach and
mentor parent leaders; enhance family development session modules and other training
materials; assist in the training of community volunteers for KALAHI-CIDSS areas;
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provide inputs on the development of KALAHI-CIDSS urban; provide business

development services to SEA-K beneficiaries, which include skills and resource inventory,
market study, product development, market access, and management of enterprises.
The family development modules, in particular can be an avenue where partner NGOs
can make substantive and meaningful contribution to the Pantawid Program. Embedded
in the FDS is the transformation of values of heads of the families. Partner NGOs can
help heads of the family learn how to prioritize the important and the urgent from what
are not. And this could redound to the greater benefit of the family. Partner NGOs can
follow the example set by the POPCOM (Commission on Population), which signed a
MOA with DSWD to assume the trainers role for Module 5 (Responsible Parenthood) of
the FDS in many provinces in the country. Partner NGOs in SOCSKSARGEN can also
perform this role, considering their experience and expertise on this thematic issue. But
it is yet undetermined if POPCOM would also assume this role in Region XII, if it would
cover all the Pantawid Program municipalities, or only selected communities.
10. Partner with DSWD in anti-poverty programs such as livelihood and referral systems for
employment opportunities; adopt centers / institutions to provide support for the
residents by way of material and psychological support; adopt a street corner to
respond to the needs of street families and street children; and advocate and organize
the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC) to undertake preventive
measures on child trafficking and abuse.
11. Help in facilitating action, feedback and monitoring through assistance in the beneficiary
updating system (BUS); assistance in the implementation of the Grievance Redress
System (GRS); and document the experiences of KALAHI-CIDSS communities.
In addition, NGOs can also complement the role of LGUs in ensuring sufficiency in the supply
side.
Possible supply-side interventions for education are:
1. Provision of textbooks to elementary school pupils
2. Provision of workbooks to pre-school pupils
3. Provision of learning materials (crayons, pad papers)
4. Provision of teaching materials and accessories (visual aids, cut-outs, flow charts,
eraser, chalk, permanent markers, scissors, cutter, cartolina, cardboard, etc.)
5. Provision of testing/student evaluation materials (newsprint, etc)
6. Provision of mimeographing machine (municipal level) for reproducing test papers16
Possible supply-side interventions for health are:
1. Injectibles (immunizations)
2. Vitamins
3. Flow charts on MNCH, Reproductive Health, Family Planning and the like
4. Visual aids on disease prevention
16
Many of the Pantawid Program barangays do not have electricity, or have partial electricity only, and,
therefore cannot sustainably power any type of reproduction machine.

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5. Paramedical supplies and kits

6. Supplemental supplies and basic equipment for primary public health care
Network Building
It would be beneficial for NGOs having social protection programs to organize themselves into a
fixed network and identify a core set of focuses or convergence areas where all members of
this network could agree to work together or complement one another on a grand, replicable
and sustainable scale.
This network could have as its core sectoral focus children, women and elders from IP and
Moro communities, in consideration of the cultural and ethnic composition of the people living in
the SOCSKSARGEN area.
It could also design their primary programmatic thrusts to be attuned to the Pantawid Program
of DSWD and collectively work on the enumerated areas of possible intervention presented in
the previous page to complement the Pantawid Program.
The network can also dovetail the support to the Pantawid Program with the other two core
social protection programs of DSWD, Kalahi-CIDSS and SEA-K, as well as with the work around
the BCPC formations in the issue of child trafficking and abuse, having the main goal of
reducing exposure of children to social vulnerabilities.
In terms of accurately targeting beneficiaries, the network can acquire access to the database
of the NHTS-PR and identify the most vulnerable IP and Moro families and where they are
located in the region. The database can be opened up to the network since it is geared to be a
partner of the DSWD Regional Office in providing social protection services to the communities.
The network is also classified as an end user, considering that the information it will take from
the database would be towards implementing social protection and development interventions
to the poorest households in the community.
With its socio-economic database of poor households, the network can be assured of being able
to target and identify the beneficiaries who most need social protection interventions.
By doing so, a high level of synchronicity would have been established by the network, not only
among its membership, not only with DSWD, but in the kind of interventions that they
implement to poor and vulnerable communities.

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ANNEX A
THE AREA OF COVERAGE
The field study covered the area known as SOCSKSARGEN, which includes three provinces and
one city, namely: 1) Sarangani, 2) Sultan Kudarat, 3) South Cotatabo and 4) General Santos
City. SOCSKSARGEN covers most of the area of Region XII. The only areas not included in
SOCSKSARGEN are Cotabato City and Cotabato Province. These are also not included in the
field study.
In Sarangani, the locations visited
were: 1) Brgy. Poblacion, Alabel
Municipality, and 2) Brgy. Pananag,
Maasim Municipality.
In Sultan Kudarat, the locations visited
were:
1)
Brgy.
Kolong-kolong,
Palimbang Municipality, 2) Brgy.
Kanipaan, Palimbang Municipality,
Brgy. Wal, Palimbang Municipality, and
2) Brgy. Tananzang, Lutayan.
In South Cotabato, the locations visi
ted were: 1) Brgy. Poblacion, Lake
Sebu, 2) Brgy. Luhib, Lake Sebu, 3)
Brgy. Reyes, Banga, and 4) Brgy.
Ambalgan, Sto. Nino.
In General Santos city, the locations
visited were: 1) Brgy. Fatima, 2) Brgy.
Tambler, 3) Brgy. San Jose, 4) Brgy.
Apopong.
A brief description of each location (province and particular municipalities) is presented as
follows:
1. Sarangani is a province of the Philippines located in the SOCCSKSARGEN region in
Mindanao. Its capital is Alabel and borders South Cotabato to the north and Davao del
Sur to the east. Sarangani is part of the South Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani-Gen.
Santos City (SOCSKSARGEN) development cluster, and is linked by paved roads to the
international airport and world-class fish port of Gen. Santos City. Good roads and
regular flights through Gen. Santos City allow the province easy access to Manila, Cebu,
Davao City, as well as the rest of the Soccsksargen areas. Gen. Santos Citys airport has
one of the countrys longest runways.

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Sarangani is subdivided into 7 municipalities grouped into two parts, separated by the
Sarangani Bay. The western part consists of Kiamba, Maasim, and Maitum, while the
eastern part is composed of Alabel, Glan, Malapatan, and Malungon.
It has a population of 475,514 as of 2007 and is ranked 18th in the 2006 survey of
poorest provinces.
The Indigenous Peoples (IPs) of Sarangani consist largely of Blaan, Tboli, Tagakaolo,
Kalagan, Manobo/Ubo tribes of the total population. These indigenous cultural
communities (ICCs) are among the most marginalized sectors of the society. This
condition is attributed to a complex web of socio-economic politico-cultural problems and
the most pressing of which are poverty, lack of access to basic services, possible of loss
of ancestral lands/domains, and diminishing cultural heritage.
a. Alabel is a 1st class municipality in the
province of Sarangani. It is the capital
municipality of Sarangani. It has a total
land area of 51,098.27 hectares.
According to the latest census, it has a
population of 71,872 people in 12,312
households.
The Blaan tribe predominate a number
of upland barangays of Alabel. But they
are also present in small pockets in the
lower, more developed communities,
such as Barangay Poblacion.
It has 435 households that are beneficiaries of the Pantawid Program, particularly in
Barangay Poblacion only.

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b. Maasim is a 3rd class municipality in

the province of Sarangani, Mindanao,
Philippines. It has a total land area of
50,043.00 hectares. According to the
latest census, it has a population of
49,274 people in 7,727 households.
It is bordered on the west by the munici
pality of Kiamba, on the easy by
Sarangani Bay, on the north by South
Cotabato, and on the south by the
Celebes Sea.
The majority of the population is Moro from the Maguindanao tribe and Lumad from
the Blaan tribe. One of the indigenous peoples living in mountainous areas of
Maasim is known as Bla'an.
It has 2,357 households that are beneficiaries of the Pantawid Program. All
barangays of Maasim are enrolled in the 4Ps Program.
2. Sultan Kudarat is a province of the Philippines located in the SOCCSKSARGEN region in
Mindanao. Its capital is Isulan and borders Maguindanao and Cotabato to the north,
South Cotabato and Sarangani to the south, and Davao del Sur to the east, and the
Celebes Sea to the west.

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As of the 2000 census, Sultan Kudarat has a total population of 586,505. The province
formerly had a Moro majority, but migrants now outnumber Moro and Lumad
communities.
Maguindanaons live in the coastal towns of the province. Tribal groups with settlements
in the province include the Blaans, Tedurays and Manobo. The most dominant language
is Teduray, though Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), Ilocano and Cebuano are spoken in some
municipalities. Maguindanao is the local language of the Moro population.
Sultan Kudarat is subdivided into 11 municipalities and 1 city. Three of the municipalities
(Kalamansig, Lebak, and Palimbang) are coastal towns, while the rest of the province
are located inland.
Tacurong City is the smallest unit in the province in terms of land area, but it is the most
urbanized, and is considered to be the province's commercial center. Other growth
centers are Lebak and Isulan, the latter being the provincial capital. Bagumbayan is the
largest town in terms of land area.
The 11 municipalities and Tacurong City are further subdivided into 249 barangays.
a. Palimbang is a 3rd class
municipality in the province of
Sultan
Kudarat,
Philippines.
According to the 2000 census, it
has a population of 43,742 people
in 8,191 households.
Maguindanaons are predominant in
the municipality. Manobos are
numerous in the upland barangays.
Only a few are Christian settlers.
It has 6,738 households that are
beneficiaries of the Pantawid
Program.
All
barangays
of
Palimbang are enrolled in the 4Ps Program.

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b. Lutayan is a 3rd class municipality

in the province of Sultan Kudarat,
Philippines. According to the 2000
census, it has a population of
40,881 people in 7,110 households.
Maguindanaons are a majority in the
municipality. The second most
populous are the Christian migrants,
who predominate a few barangays.
Pockets of Blaan communities are
also found, including one barangay
which is purely Blaan.
It has 4,326 households that are
beneficiaries of the Pantawid Program. All 14 barangays of Lutayan are enrolled in
the 4Ps Program.
3. South Cotabato is a province of the Philippines located in the SOCCSKSARGEN region in
Mindanao. Its capital is Koronadal City, and it borders Sultan Kudarat to the north and
west, Sarangani to the south and east, and Davao del Sur to the east. To the southeast
lies Sarangani Bay.
The people of South Cotabato have diverse heritages. Ilonggos from Panay and Negros
in the Visayas settled the municipalities of Norala, Banga, Surallah, Sto. Nio and the
province's capital, Koronadal, yet T'boli is the province's major communication media.
On the other hand, people from the Ilocano speaking regions of Luzon settled in
Tampakan, Tantangan and Tupi, and the Ilocano language may still be heard spoken in
these towns. The Visayan language, Cebuano is also the main ethnic ethnolinguistic
group of the municipality of Polomolok and is one of the main ethnolinguistic groups of
Tupi (along with Ilonggo and Tagalog, which slightly differs from Manila Tagalog; T'boli
is their mother tongue nowadays). Both towns are near to General Santos City.
The Maguindanao tribe is the major Moro tribe in the province. They are found in Upper
Sipaka, Surallah, in Ambalgan, Sto Nino,
and in Lambah and Upper Lambukay,
Banga.
a. Lake Sebu is a 2nd class
municipality in the province of South
Cotabato, Philippines. According to
the 2000 census, it has a population
of 54,142 people in 11,158
households.
The
lake's
shores
and
the
surrounding rainforest are home to
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October 2011
the indigenous T'bolis, Tedurays, Ubos and Manobos. One of the major tribes, the
T'bolis are known for their weaving skills and brassware production as well as fishing
skills. The rest of the population are made up of majority settlers.
It has 4,381 households that are beneficiaries of the Pantawid Program. All
barangays of Lake Sebu are enrolled in the 4Ps Program.
b. Banga is a 1st class municipality in
the province of South Cotabato,
Philippines. According to the 2000
census, it has a population of 69,131
people in 14,101 households.
Settlers are a majority in the
municipality. There is a substantial
presence
of
Tboli
and
Maguindanaon in the barangays as
well.
It has 3773 households that are
beneficiaries
of
the
Pantawid
Program. All barangays of Lake Sebu
are enrolled in the 4Ps Program.
4. The City of General Santos (abbreviated G.S.C. or GenSan) is the southern most port
city of the Republic of the Philippines. It is one of the most populous urban centres in
the country with a population of 529,542 as per data of 2007 census. GenSan is
bounded by municipalities of Sarangani Province namely Alabel in the East of the city,
and Maasim in the South. The city is likewise bounded by South Cotabato municipality of
Polomolok and Sarangani Province municipality of Malungon in the North, and the
municipality of T'boli in the West of the city. General Santos City is a component of
province South Cotabato.
Settlers are a majority in the city. But
there is a significant presence of
Maguindanaon Muslims in such
barangays
as
Tambler,
Fatima,
Bawing, Seguil, Apopong, Buayan,
Baluan, Tinagakan, Katangawan and
Labangal. The indigenous Blaans and
Tbolis are found in San Jose, Ligaya,
Olympog,
Ligaya,
Sinawal
and
Calumpang.
Despite it being classified as a highly
urbanized city, it has 8,556 households
that are beneficiaries of the Pantawid
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October 2011
Program. 11 barangays of the city are enrolled in the 4Ps Program.

a. Brgy Fatima is an urban barangay of General Santos City. It has a total population
of 67,309. It has 475 households that are beneficiaries of the Pantawid Program.
The barangay has as majority the Christian settlers. About 15% of the population
are Maguindanaon, and about 7% are from the Blaan tribe.
b. Brgy. San Jose is a rural barangay of General Santos City. It has a total population
The barangay has a majority shared between the Blaan and the TBoli, though the
Tboli are located along the northwestern boundaries, near the municipality of TBoli.
There is also a minority population of settlers residing in the area, mostly Ilonggo.
c. Brgy. Tambler is a rural barangay of General Santos City. It has a total population
The majority population of the barangay is shared between the Maguindanaon tribe
and the majority settlers. There is also a minority population of Blaan residing in the
area.

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ANNEX B
THE NATIONAL HOUSEHOLD TARGETING SYSTEM FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION
(NHTS-PR)
The NHTS-PR is an information management system that identifies who and where the poor
are. Its implementation is spearheaded by the Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD).
NHTS-PR aims to establish a socio-economic database of households that will be used in
identifying the beneficiaries of national social protection programs. More importantly, it seeks to
reduce the problems of leakage or inclusion of non-poor and at the same time lessen exclusion
or under-coverage of the poor in social protection programs.
Basis for a Targeting System
Recent studies cited by the World Bank have revealed that poorly targeted social services result
in exclusion of the poor from necessary social services and the waste of resources on those who
are not actually poor. Poverty alleviation programs do not ensure that the poor really enjoy or
receive benefits.
In order to address poverty effectively and use limited resources efficiently, the government has
adopted social protection as its core strategy. As part of the governments key steps to address
major lapses in its social protection policies, the DSWD implemented the Social Welfare and
Development Reform Program (SWDRP), which aims to improve the outcome of SWD services
and service delivery by undertaking four (4) Reform Areas: 1) Leading in social protection, 2)
Providing faster and better service delivery of social protection programs, 3) Financial reforms
to sustain the reform process, and 4) Improving systems for service delivery. Thus the creation
of the NHTS-PR.
What is the NHTS-PR
1. Aims to contribute to the rationalization of the governments social protection programs
and lead to an equitable distribution of resources and services to the poor.
2. Seeks to reduce exclusion and inclusion problems in social protection programs.
3. Makes it possible for National Government Agencies and even Local Government Units
and Non-Government Organizations to determine beneficiaries of their programs using
objective and standard parameters.
4. As a planning tool, it provides household level data on almost 6,500 permutations of its
34 variables in subsets of three correlated variables. For example, the NHTS-PR can tell
which households with women aged 60 and above who are still engaged in agricultural
activities.
5. As a validation tool, it serves as mechanism for validating data on poverty produced by
other sources such as but not limited to Community-Based management System
(CBMS), or other locally-driven data collection activities especially when they cover the
same areas and very similar sets of data under the same time frame.

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This system aims to build a socio-economic database of poor households to ensure that
qualified beneficiaries will receive the social protection services they need.
Thus, the DSWD saw the need to adopt a household targeting system for poverty reduction for
its social protection programs and services.
NHTS-PR does not compete with other databases. Instead it works to complement these efforts
of identifying areas and individuals who really need to be empowered and be reached by
government services.
Administration and Methodology of the Targeting System
1.
Geographical Targeting
Selection of areas to be surveyed based on Poverty

Incidence (NSCB data)
2.
Household Assessment
(Enumeration)
Assess all houses in

geographical targeting
3.
Selection of Poor
Beneficiaries thru
Proxy Means Test
Income is estimated through proxy variables of the

socio-economic conditions of the household instead of
asking directly about their income
4.
Eligibility Check
Identification of 4Ps beneficiaries (i.e. households with

pregnant women and or children 0-14 years old
areas
selected
based
on
The NHTS-PR covers four phases:

Phase 1 Preparatory Phase
First is the selection of areas based on poverty incidence by provinces, municipalities and
barangays, i.e. geographical targeting. The process identifies where the poor are.
Initially, the DSWD uses the 2006 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) of the
National Statistics Office (NSO) to select the poorest provinces, the 2003 Small Area
Estimates (SAE) of NSCB for the poorest municipalities, and gradually slides to the next LGU
ranked according to poverty incidence.
1. Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) A survey implemented by National
Statistical Office (NSO) in 2006. In the selection of target areas for the implementation
of the program, priority was given to the 20 poorest provinces based on this survey.
Further, the poorest province in the regions which are not included in the 20 poorest
were likewise considered to ensure a regional spread/nationwide implementation.
2. The Small Area Estimates (SAE) A list developed by the National Statistical
Coordination Board (NSCB) used to select the municipalities in the poorest provinces
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October 2011
identified in the FIES. Cities shall be selected using the list of poor areas issued by the
National Anti- Poverty Commission (NAPC).
3. In consultation with the Local Government Units (LGUs) Selection of barangays only
applied in urban areas and was based on the availability of supply side on health and
education based on the results of the supply side assessment conducted by the regional
office. Likewise, consultation with the planning office of the concerned Local
Government Unit was done to ensure that the barangays identified for the 4Ps
implementation would not be affected by any development projects that may lead to the
relocation of residents for at least the three years after commencement of the Program.
If poverty incidence in a municipality is higher than 50%, all barangays are to be assessed
and enumerated. If poverty incidence is lower than 50%, barangays are selected based on
local socio-economic indicators for pockets of poverty. On-demand application for
enumeration is made upon request by such entities as LGUs when there is question on the
veracity of the state of poverty of those identified as poor therein. This is done after total
enumeration has been done that area, but not before.
Phase 2 Data Collection and Analysis Phase
The second phase is the household assessment or the identification of who the poor are.
Contrary to popular perception, the target beneficiaries of the 4Ps are not identified by the
local government chief executives. All the households in the identified areas (and where
there are pockets of poverty) are assessed through house-to-house interviews using the
Household Assessment Form (HAF). The HAF is a two-page questionnaire with 34 variables
that are readily verifiable by a number of enumerators, such as household composition,
education of household members, employment, housing structure (construction materials of
the roof and walls), and ownership of assets, etc. The selected variables are considered
good proxies for income.
Eligible households for the program shall meet the following qualifications:
1. Residents of the municipalities and barangays identified as areas of implementation of
the 4Ps.
2. Selected by the statistical formula (Proxy Means Test) developed for the program and
belongs to the extremely poor household classification.
3. Household with children 0 - 14 years old or with pregnant woman at the time of
selection.
Prior to the conduct of household assessment, proper orientation on the use of the
household assessment tool shall be undertaken.
The household assessments are done either through complete saturation (meaning all
households in a locality are enumerated) or through pockets of poverty (which only covers a
segment of the community based on a set of ten indicators). On demand application applies
to these pockets of poverty that may be left out by this identification phase.

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After the household assessment, the HAFs are encoded using a standardized software
application (PhP and MySQL) developed for the easy encoding of data on the household.
Once all data in the municipality is entered into the system and is certified complete by the
local government, it is then entered into the Proxy Mean Test (PMT) application module that
calculates the income of the household, based on the assessment.
The Household Assessment Tool covers the necessary information to run the Proxy Means
Test that identifies/determines the poorest of the poor in the target areas. The Proxy-Means
Test assesses socio-economic characteristics such as:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Ownership of assets/appliances;
Type of housing unit;
Level of educational attainment of household heads; and
Access to water and sanitation facilities.
The information to calculate the Proxy Means Test is collected through household
assessments and encoded online at the regional level and transmitted to DSWD nationally.
The result of the Proxy Means Test is a ranking for each household based on their
approximate income with reference to the municipal/provincial poverty threshold.
Phase 3 Data Validation Phase
The third phase consists in the validation and finalization of the list of poor households
through the creation of the Local Verification Committee that will conduct spot checks and
assist in managing complaints and grievances in terms of possible exclusion and inclusion
errors.
These activities are aimed at ensuring the integrity of the database, so all qualified poor
households are captured by the system.
On-demand Application (ODA) provides opportunity for households who were not assessed
during the regular enumeration to apply for an assessment to be included on the list of poor
households. The targets of this activity are the households in areas covered by NHTS-PR
and the pockets of poverty who think they are poor, but were not included in the previously
conducted enumeration.
Validation assesses and authenticates the preliminary list of poor and non-poor households.
A Local Verification Committee (LVC) is created to address or act on all the complaints
raised during the validation period.
In both ODA and Validation, the area supervisors are tasked to receive on-demand
applications and validation complaints or queries.
On demand application and validation are aimed at ensuring the integrity of the database,
wherein all the qualified poor households are captured by the system.

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Phase 4 Data Report Phase

The last phase is on report-generation and information-sharing. It is in this phase that
NHTS-PR is shared with potential end-users, such as government agencies and private
social protection stakeholders, so they can be provided with a reference for identifying
program beneficiaries.
The database will provide the stakeholders a reference in identifying the beneficiaries of
their programs. The database can also be used for academic and research purposes.
Data users will be charged with a minimal users fee according to the data requirements.
The fee will cover the cost of generating the requested data and will be determined during
the preparation of the Memorandum of Agreement.
Agencies/programs that will use the NHTS-PR database will review the shared data and
provide appropriate feedback to DSWD.

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ANNEX C
PROCEDURES AND MECHANICS OF THE
PANTAWID PAMILYANG PILIPINO PROGRAM
To effectively implement the program, a well designed and efficient program procedures and
mechanics are needed to serve as guides to local implementers. This will help define and
delineate roles and responsibilities of the local government implementers, ensure availability of
the demand-side on health, nutrition, education and support services for the beneficiaries in
order to achieve success in program implementation.
Implementing Procedures
According to Administrative Order No. 16, Series of 2008, the following illustration describes the
cycle of implementation of the Pantawid Program:
3
Selection of
Families
4
Organization of
Assemblies
2
Supply Side
Assessment
1
Selection of
Provinces /
Municipalities
5
Family Registry
Preparation
6
First Payment
8
Second
Succeeding
Release
7
Verification of
Compliance
with
Conditions
Conduct of sessions on family

planning, PES and others
Targeting
The National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR)17
The Philippine government had been using various targeting tools for its programs and projects,
resulting in a fragmented and uncoordinated approach by government agencies on the issue of
social protection. A study conducted by the World Bank revealed that poorly targeted social
17
Please refer to Annex B for a detailed explanation about the NHTS-PR.

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services result in the unnecessary exclusion of the poor from critical social services and waste
resources on those who are actually not poor.
A national targeting system was therefore necessary to ensure that the limited resources of the
government were equitably distributed to the poor. With the system, savings and benefit-level
of all social protection programs became possible. Thus the NHTS-PR came to being.
The National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) is a data
management system that identifies who and where the poor are in the country.
Specifically, the system aims to:
Formulate a unified criteria for the selection of the poorest population
Facilitate the sharing of solid database for public and private social protection
stakeholders; and
Reduce leakages (exclusion and under-coverage of poor, as well as inclusion of nonpoor).
A number of policy issuances have been formulated in support of the NHTS-PR. These are:
Executive Order 867 (series of 2010), Providing for the Adoption of the National
Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction as the Mechanism for Identifying
Poor Households who shall be Recipients of Social Protection Programs Nationwide";
National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Memorandum Circular No. 1, (series of 2009),

"Directing All Anti-Poverty Programs and Projects (APPs) to Focus on the One Million
Poor Households as Beneficiaries"; and
National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) Resolution No. 18 (series of 2009),
"Recognizing and Enjoining Support to the National Household Targeting System for
Poverty Reduction being Implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and

Development as a Tool to Identify Beneficiaries of Social Protection Programs."
After the issuance of Executive Order No. 867 on March 9, 2010, all National Government
Agencies (NGAs) were directed to adopt the NHTS-PR as a mechanism in identifying who and
where the poor household who shall be the recipients of social protection programs are. This
effectively replaced all other sources of data, surveys and lists previously used in targeting poor
households.
E.O. 867 also designated the DSWD as responsible for maintaining the system and serving as
the repository of the data on poor households and shall update the data every four (4) years.
Supply Side Assessment
A supply side assessment is conducted upon identification of the target areas using the supply
side assessment tool on health and education. The supply side assessment aims to determine
the readiness of the city/municipal local government units in ensuring delivery of priority health
and education services for the target poor households. Prior to the conduct of assessment, an
orientation of the local government units on the mechanics and tools on supply side is also
conducted.

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Organizing of Initial Community Assembly (Validation and Registration Day)

When the household beneficiaries have already been identified, the community assembly in the
barangay is undertaken. The main thrusts of the initial community assembly include
identification and validation of potential beneficiaries and orientation about the program
particularly on the conditionalities to be able to continue to qualify under the program. They are
also briefed on the process of the community assembly. The conduct of the initial community
assembly shall be initiated by the regional office in close coordination with the local government
units.
During the initial community assembly, the potential beneficiaries are oriented well on the
conditionalities of the program as follows:
1. Pregnant women must get pre natal care starting from the 1st trimester, child birth is
attended by skilled/trained professional, get post natal care thereafter
2. Parents / guardians must attend family planning sessions/mother's class, Parent
Effectiveness Service and others
3. Children 0-5 years of age get regular preventive health check ups and vaccines
4. Children 3-5 years old must attend day care program/preschool
5. Children 6-14 years of age are enrolled in schools and attend at least 85% of the time
Other Duties And Responsibilities of Household Grantees
1. Attend meetings and group sessions and coordinate with Pantawid Program parentleader on concerns relative to the program in the community such as schedules of
release of cash grants and information on household information such as address,
stopping of children in school or transfer to other school.
2. Attend parenting education sessions with the spouse and other related seminars for
Pantawid Program beneficiaries
3. Provide regular update on meeting the conditionalities of the program to the Pantawid
Program mother-leader as part of verification
Beneficiaries are basically organized into groups of 25 to 30 members called community
assemblies. A community assembly is a public gathering of Pantawid Program beneficiaries to
facilitate open discussion and feed backing among Pantawid Program household head / grantee
beneficiaries. This assembly is a strategy to bring all concerns of the household grantees to the
overall operation of the program.
It promotes peer support and facilitates monitoring in terms of compliance with the
conditionalities on health and education. It helps establish and encourage unity and
cooperation; and as the household head/grantee beneficiaries meet and share individual and
group concerns, they have opportunity to analyze and solve problems together which help build
trust, support and involvement.
The community assembly serves also as a means to capture and facilitate resolution of
grievances and complaints about the program as well as other problems encountered by the
Pantawid Program beneficiaries needing social work interventions. Response to problems
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October 2011
related to program delivery and problems related to the beneficiaries and in their community
will be better addressed by having the parents or the household head/grantee beneficiaries
themselves mobilized in solving their problems and meeting their needs.
The conduct of the community aims to elicit the active participation of household head grantees
most of whom are women. The latter used to play an indirect role in the development of the
community, but this time, they serve as primary movers, being volunteers and leaders in their
own community. The community assembly functions as a local mechanism that help
facilitatesand strengthen program implementation.
Family Registry Preparation
Oath of Commitment
All potential beneficiaries who agreed to participate in the Program are made to sign the Oath
of Commitment.
The oath signifies the co-responsibility between the government and the beneficiaries to
strengthen the commitment to invest in human capital and to improve lives of the familybeneficiaries and their children. The Oath of Commitment is signed by the beneficiary upon
registration into the program to signify his/her duty to comply with the conditionalities that are
anchored on health and education.
The oath is encoded in Filipino on a long bond paper. After affixing their signatures (and for
some municipalities with very active Municipal Links, even ID sized pictures on the upper right
hand corner of the document), the beneficiaries are enjoined to laminate the entire document,
so that it is preserved for the duration of the 5-year contract.
Land Bank Cash Card
Issuance of Pantawid Program identification cards would also be undertaken including
enrollment to the Land Bank Cash Card Program.
The Cash Card is a card with stored value also known as a Prepaid Debit card. It is a noninterest bearing account. The card is honored in any establishment with Expressnet logo. The
cardholder can withdraw from any Land Bank or Expressnet, Megalink, BancNet member banks
ATM.
The DSWD in coordination with the Advisory Council composed of DepEd, DOH, DILG, NAPC
and the LGU representatives at the national, regional and municipal levels will verify compliance
every 2 months using monitoring tools developed for this purpose.
Provision of Program Package
Upon registration of household beneficiaries, appropriate program package shall be determined
based on the qualified number of children in the household particularly on education grant.

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Based on the registry, the Project Management Office will make the payment lists and the
amounts to be paid. The first cash transfer shall be made upon signing by mothers of the
agreement to participate and comply with the conditionalities.
Releasing / Disbursement of Cash Grants
For Health grant, P 500.00/month per household shall be given or a total of P6,000.00/year.
For Education grant, 3-14 years old children enrolled at the Day Care Program/Pre-school and
elementary education shall receive P300.00/month for 10 months or a total of P3, 000.00 in a
year with a maximum of 3 children per household.
Thus, household with 3 children shall receive P1,400.00 per month and those with one or 2
children shall receive P800.00 and P1,100.00 per month respectively.
The 1st cash transfer is considered as a bonus, as release of the cash grant package does not
require the verification of any of the conditions.
Subsequent cash transfers are made every two months subject to verification of compliance to
conditionalities as specified in the agreement.
This scheme particularly applies to beneficiaries who have been under the Program longer (Set
1 and most Set 2 barangays). For Set 3 barangays, money is released once every three months
(or per quarter), with a disbursement value covering two months (except the month when the
grant was released). Beginning January February 2011, the releasing of cash grants every
two months was implemented in all 4P areas.
DSWD claims this releasing scheme is used as a preventive measure to avoid unnecessary
spending on the part of the head of the family.
Monitoring and Verification of Compliance
Compliance of beneficiaries to the conditionalities set forth by the program shall be monitored
by the DSWD Program Management Office. A monitoring and verification mechanism shall be
installed in all schools and health centers where children beneficiaries of education grant and
mothers are availing education and health services. Focal persons in each school and health
centers shall be identified to assist the beneficiaries to enroll and access to this monitoring and
verification system.
Compliance refers to carrying out the specific conditionalities on health and education by the
household grantee. Non-compliance to any of the conditionalities may have corresponding
repercussion which may lead to termination from the program.
Succeeding Releases

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The DSWD-Project Management Office is responsible in the consolidation of reports on

monitoring and verification of compliance of household's beneficiaries. The results of verification
shall be used to determine the amount of subsequent release of cash grants to beneficiaries.
Regular Conduct of Community Assemblies
Regular community assembly shall be conducted in the barangay to bring all concerns of the
household grantees to the overall operation of the program. In the conduct of community
assembly, a cluster of 20-30 household grantees in a neighborhood are organized to form into a
group called assembly.
The conduct of the community assembly shall aim primarily to monitor compliance of household
grantees to program conditionalities, remind household grantees of their commitments and
responsibilities, facilitate activities and interventions needed by the household members and the
community in general, facilitate grievances and complaints and facilitate the conduct of sessions
on family planning, mother's class, parent effectiveness seminars and other parenting education
activities. Community assembly is scheduled to be done twice a month.
There are eight (8) modules to the Family Development Sessions (8). They are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Module
Module
Module
Module
Module
Module
Module
Module
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
Understanding Myself and My Family

Child and Maternal Care
Child Development
Building Child Positive Behavior
Responsible Parenthood
Laws Affecting the Philippine Family
Gender and Development
Home Management
Organization of Grievance Committee

To provide quick access to and due process in resolving noncompliance and complaints and to
promote a graft-free program by evolving a transparent approach in resolving grievances
particular to meeting the conditionalities of the program, a grievance committee shall be
organized at the national, regional and municipal levels.
The National Grievance Committee is composed of DSWD, DepEd, DOH, NAPC,DILG and DBM.
The Program Director serves as the Chairman. It shall have the functions of reviewing and
conducting investigation filed by the Regional Grievance Committee. It shall act on and provide
decisions and recommendations on cases endorsed at the national level particularly on
cancellation/termination of household grantees resulting from 3rd instance of non-compliance
to program conditionalities as well as provide technical assistance on matters filed at the
regional level.
The Regional Grievance Committee composed of Regional Director from DSWD, DepEd, DOH,
DILG and the Provincial Social Welfare Officer. DSWD Director chairs the Regional Grievance
Committee. It shall monitor the progress of compliance to conditionalities on filed cases at the
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October 2011
municipal level and shall monitor resolution of grievances, disputes, comments and complaints
of cases filed at the municipal level. The Regional Grievance Committee shall serve as the main
repository of intake forms on all grievances at the municipal level, and conduct quarterly expost facto review of at least 10% of all decisions made at the municipal level. The Regional
Grievance Committee provides decisions pertaining to suspension in cases of 2nd instance of non
-compliance to Pantawid Program conditionalities. The Regional Grievance Committee shall
likewise forward to the National Grievance Committee cases recommended for termination.
The Municipal Grievance Committee is composed of City/Municipal Social Welfare Officer,
Municipal Health Officer, Municipal Link(s)18, School Principal and Parent Leader of the
Concerned Barangay. It shall receive filed cases of non-compliance to APP conditionalities from
any of the members of the community. It shall provide clarifications and resolutions to any form
of complaints and problems from the household grantees and/or between and among the
grantees and any member from the community, and shall refer and file unresolved cases at the
regional level on cases of suspension.
SANCTIONS FOR NON-COMPLIANCE ON PROGRAM CONDITIONALITIES
By household beneficiaries
Failure to comply with any of the conditionalities will result in the following sanctions:
1. First offense of non-compliance to any of the conditionalities on health and education:
Beneficiaries will not receive the grant for that specific month and will be given a written
warning to remind them of financial repercussions of their noncompliance.
2. Second offense of non-compliance: Beneficiaries will continue not to receive grant and
will receive a warning to remind them of financial repercussions of their continued noncompliance. Cash grants will be withheld beginning the next payment period until the
conditionalities are complied with and the beneficiary's record updated. They will then
be referred to the municipal/city social welfare and development officer for counseling
and other interventions.
3. Third offense of non-compliance: The beneficiary will not receive the grant and will be
temporarily suspended from the program. An appeal for reconsideration may be filed
through the Grievance Redress Committee within three months from the date of
suspension. If the appeal has been accepted, the parents shall be required to attend a
re-orientation on their roles as beneficiaries, sign a new Oath of Commitment, and
attend any counseling sessions provided by the Municipal Social Welfare Office before
the suspension is lifted and the household is reinstated in the payroll. Retroactive
payment shall only apply to the month covered by the payroll. After three months of
temporary suspension with no act of appeal, the household beneficiary will be
terminated from the program.
18
Every Municipal Link is assigned about 1,000 beneficiaries from between two to four barangays.

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4. Fourth offense of non-compliance: This shall lead to termination of the education or

health grant. A written notice shall be issued to the household and appeals shall no
longer be considered after termination.
5. Non-compliance with any of the health conditionalities will result in proportionate
deductions to the number of applicable conditions not met. The whole grant on health
may only be restored upon the compliance of the beneficiary. The basis will be as
follows:
a. For pregnant women in household at the moment of the registration in the Pantawid
Program conditions are to attend pre-natal and postnatal check-ups as required in
DOH protocol and give birth assisted by trained health worker.
b. For children 05 years of age-conditions are to attend regular health checkups,
controls and get vaccinations according to the DOH protocol.
c. For children 614 years old will receive deworming pills twice a year.
d. For the household grantee or the spouse to attend family development sessions or
responsible parenthood sessions.
6. In case of non-compliance, the specific month or period not complied with by the
household beneficiary will be applied as basis for non-payment.
7. Suspension in the case of a household that does not comply with applicable health
conditions in any given month will not receive payments for the said month and will
receive a written warning for temporary suspension of the program.
8. Suspension in the case of a household that does not comply with education grant in any
given month of the quarter for two consecutive quarters will not receive payments for
the said month of non-compliant children and will receive a written warning for
temporary suspension.
9. Compliance with the education grant is treated on a per-child basis. As such, sanctions
shall be applied only to the child not in compliance with any of the conditionalities.
10. Other reasons for termination in the Pantawid Program include:
a. Giving false or misleading information at any part of data collection, including
information about compliance with program conditionalities and the fulfillment of
other responsibilities.
b. The transfer of residence to another municipality or barangay outside the area of
program coverage.
11. Any failure to collect the transfer of cash grant for two consecutive payment periods will
be grounds for validation and investigation. Sanctions will be determined and applied
based on the results of the investigation and the recommendations of the grievance and
redress committee.

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By Local Government Unit (LGU)

1. Municipalities that cannot comply with the supply-side requirements on both health and
education will be given 6 months to 1 year in which to comply with the conditionalities.
Continued non-compliance even after the prescribed period will result in the termination
of all program activities in those areas as stipulated in the memorandum of agreement
(MOA) signed between the LGU and DSWD following the supply side assessment.
2. Any reported LGU violations will be dealt with and due process will be undertaken in
accordance with the MOA and existing laws.
3. The program will be suspended in municipalities/barangays where after the inception of
the program, the supply of services ceases to be adequate as indicated by.
a. The failure to address any deficiencies in the barangay health and education services
within 6 months of their detection.
b. Education and/or health complaints indicate that over 20% of households are unable
to comply with program requirements due to the absence of teachers and and/or
medical personnel.
c. The LGU ceases to collaborate with the program by then on-fulfillment of
commitments made, including (but not limited to: (a) the non-designation of a focal
person at the municipal level to assist the municipal link; and/or (b) not having office
space in which to receive and process queries and updates from as well as
complaints by program beneficiaries.
d. The misuse and misrepresentation of Pantawid Program, including (but not limited)
to:
i. Obtaining the favor and patronage of household beneficiaries for purposes other
than the program's; and
ii. Imposing other obligations and conditionalities outside those stipulated in the
implementing guidelines.
EXIT STRATEGY
Exit in the program is governed by rules to define the specific circumstances under which a
household beneficiary or a local government unit will graduate or exit from the program.
Beneficiary Level
Exit of the beneficiary according to age. When the youngest child reaches the age of 15 at
any time during the school year, he or she will continue to receive the education grant until the
school year ends and/or when his or her household will cease to be a beneficiary of Pantawid
Program.
Exit due to non-compliance of beneficiary. Non-compliance with program conditionalities
three times in a year by a grant recipient will be subject for delisting in the program as specified

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October 2011
in the previous paragraphs on sanctions for non-compliance on program conditionalities by

household beneficiaries.
Exit due to misuse of grants. Misuse of grants by the grant recipients or members of the
household will be subject for resolution at the grievance redress committee, and may lead to
potential delisting in the program.
LGU Level
Non-compliant and/or violation of program rules. Beneficiaries and LGUs found to be
non-compliant with the rules and regulations of the program such as adding of conditionalities
to the beneficiaries or not addressing the supply-side concerns of the program as specified in
the MOA will be sanctioned according to previous paragraph on sanctions for non-compliance
on supply side.
Misuse and misrepresentation of the program. LGUs not in compliance or that are
misusing or misrepresenting the program despite 2 written warnings and provision of technical
assistance will be referred to the Pantawid Program national advisory committee for appropriate
action or resolutions including potential suspension or termination of the program as well as
endorsing / recommending other sanctions/ penalties in accordance with appropriate provisions
of existing laws and/or administrative orders.

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ANNEX D
THE PROXY MEANS TEST
PMT, or Proxy Means Test is a method that estimates household income using observable and
verifiable indicators.
These variables were identified through the R Square Test which computes for the percentage
strength of a variable as indicator of income. A good indicator of income must have 60% or
higher percentage to be able to explain well the household income. The test showed that the
variables used by NHTS-PR for the urban model have 66% while those used for the rural model
have 70%.
Some of the good proxies of income include family composition, education of household
members, housing conditions and access to basic services.
The PMT model estimates household income using proxy variable weights which is then
multiplied by the type of answer (yes or no), etc. of the respondent in the Household
Assessment Form. The estimated income is then ranked according to the poverty threshold that
identifies poor and non-poor households.
PMT allows accurate measures of income without using long questionnaires and easily
manipulated variables. PMT is a proven effective targeting mechanism in countries like Chile,
Colombia, Costa Rica, Brazil and Mexico.

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October 2011
ANNEX E
THE COMPLIANCE VERIFICATION SYSTEM (CVS)
This is a system that monitors how faithfully the beneficiaries comply to the conditions set by
the 4Ps program. It processes compliance data until it is ultimately used as basis for payment.
Objectives of CVS
1. To monitor all beneficiaries compliance to conditions of the program;
2. To provide a regular feedback on the beneficiaries status relative on compliance to
conditions;
3. To provide a basis for periodic payment of grants;
4. To submit a quarterly report of compliance;
Significance of CVS
1. Enables the program implementor to gather performance data of the beneficiaries
2. Provides an insight on the level of understanding of field implementors as to the
mechanics and rationale of the CVS
3. Gives cursory view of the effectiveness of the support group centers
4. Provides a quarterly data on compliance at the same time provides a solid basis for
subsequent payment of grants
5. Provides valuable information on the readiness of the area in terms of supply side
6. Provide useful information for impact evaluation
The Compliance Verification System Process Flow

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October 2011
The Six Steps.

The Compliance Verification System (CVS) is a six-step cyclical process that cuts through all
levels (National (PMO), Regional (RPMO), and Municipality/City), involving the following steps:
1. Generation of Compliance Verification (CV) Forms. The NPMO/MIS generates the
CV Forms (see below) based on the database of beneficiaries and makes them available
over the internet to RPMOs and cities/municipalities. The NPMO then sends a soft copy
(in PDF format) to the RPMOs within 15 days of the first month in the reporting quarter.
2. Distribution to the health centers or units and schools and day-care centers
(by the RPMO). The CV forms are printed by the RPMOs and sent to the cities and
municipalities within seven (7) days from receipt of soft copies. [Note: in a fully
developed computerized system, the RPMOs is able to access the main database and
verification module online and download forms over a wide area network with the
NPMO.] The city/municipal links will distribute the printed forms to the health centers
and schools in their respective areas in the last week of the first month of the reporting
quarter.
3. Monitoring of non-compliance by beneficiaries. The school principal and health

center officer act as focal persons on education and health, respectively, for the monthly
monitoring and recording of non-compliance incidences on the corresponding CV Forms.
The focal persons must submit accomplished CV Forms to the city/municipal link with 15
days of the month immediately after the reported quarter.
4. Collection of non-compliance reports. The municipal/city link collects the
accomplished CV Forms from the health centers/units and schools/day-care centers
within 15 days of the month immediately after the reported quarter. The link collects CV
Forms 2, 3 and 4 (see below). The city/municipal link then encodes the non-compliance
reports into the CVS program developed by the NPMO/MIS, and forwards both the
electronic and hard copies to the RPMO. [Note: in a fully developed computerized
system, municipalities and cities with internet facilities can access the database online to
process the forms directly. Those without have the option of processing the database
off-line, and sending the forms to the RPMO for processing online.]
5. Processing of payments based on compliance. The RPMOs reviews the

noncompliance data and submits it to the NPMO/MIS to serve as the basis for preparing
the payroll for that quarter. This is accomplished by the end of the month immediately
following the reporting quarter. The RPMOs, upon receipt of the CV Forms from
municipalities that are off-line, will input non-attendance records into the program for
the reporting period. Payments shall be made by the middle of the second month after
the report quarter.
6. Updating of the data base prior to the generation of CV Forms for the next
reporting quarter.

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CV Forms.
The content of the various forms to be accomplished for compliance verification and updating of
the database is as follows:
1. Form 1-Master List of Beneficiaries. This is the roster of the current beneficiaries of
the program. This form, which is continuously being updated as needed, serves as the
master list of beneficiaries and is generated by the NPMO. A master list is printed out
per barangay and distributed to the city/municipal link by the RPMO.
2. Form 2-Verification of Compliance for Education. This form provides the
household ID numbers and names of the children aged 0-5 and 6-14 who are
beneficiaries of the educational grant. It reports incidences of non-compliance with the
required 85% school attendance rate and the administration of deworming pills to
children 6-14 years old. The form will be filled out by the school head or focal person on
education.
3. Form 3-Verification of Compliance for Health. This provides the household ID
numbers, names of pregnant women, names of children 0-5 years old, records of noncompliance with the conditionalities on health, and any history of miscarriage. The form
is filled out by the health midwife.
4. Form 4-Family Development Session. Form 4 provides verification of the
attendance of household grantees in family development sessions. It indicates the
household ID number of the beneficiaries and the names of the health grantees not in
compliance with the health grant requirements. The primary user of the form is the
city/municipal link or the LGU link with the assistance of parent/mother leaders.

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ANNEX F
BENEFICIARY UPDATING SYSTEM
Purpose
The primary purpose of the UPDATE is to gather, validate, report and record the changes that
occurred on the status or condition of any member of the beneficiary household while under the
program.
It helps to monitor the amount of cash grant that was originally given to a beneficiary
household based on certain criteria exacted during the household survey, followed by the Proxy
Means Test which the potential beneficiaries have hurdled.
The update also determines the amount of money the beneficiary household will receive from
time to time and serves as one of the basis whether to continue, suspend or terminate the
grant.
The continuity of the cash grant is dependent on two dimensions as follows:
1. How the beneficiaries abide by the conditionalities as would be monitored through the
Compliance and Verification System (CVS).
2. The change/s on the status/condition of each beneficiary household which would be
reflected in the Update Report.
Types of Updates
All updates must be accompanied by the appropriate supporting documents. The information
and documents provided by the household grantee must be true and genuine. Any false
declaration and/or documentation submitted in support of an update will be sufficient ground
for the removal of the update and/or suspension of the grant.
Beneficiary households must report any and all changes in the status and/or household
composition resulting from a number of different circumstances as follows:
Type of Update
Short Description
Newborn Baby
Mother was pregnant at the

time of assessment, and has
since given birth.
The household moves to
another residence within the
barangay.
The household moves to
another barangay / city /
municipality within the area of
program coverage.
The household decides to go
Change of Address
Change of Barangay / City /
Municipality
Change of Servicing Health

Supporting Documents
(Most Recent)
Birth Certificate
(National Statistics Office)
Certification from Barangay
Captain
Certification from previous
Parent leaders and Municipal
Link Certification from
receiving barangay
Enrollment Certificate from
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Unit (Health Center, Rural
Health Unit, or Barangay
Health Station)
Change of School
New Enrollment
Change of
Beneficiary/Household
Grantee
Death of a Household Member
Departure or Return of
Children
Correction of Basic
Information, i.e., Name, Sex,
Date of Birth, etc.
Qualified Beneficiary Excluded
from CVS Form for Health
and/or Education
October 2011
to a different health unit or
station
the new health center / unit

or station signed by the MHO
The household decides to

send their child / children to
other school / s
enroll a child aged 6-14 years
old as new student
change their grantee due to
her demise, long absence
from home, poor health,
advanced age, etc.
The death of a beneficiary,
whether a pregnant woman or
child aged 0-14 years old
Legitimate children aged 0-14
years old of a household
grantee either leave or join
the household
Proof of Enrollment from

receiving school signed by the
principal or head teacher
Proof of Enrollment from
receiving school signed by the
principal or head teacher
Certification or Letter of
Authorization from Parent
Leader and Barangay Captain,
and/or other relevant
documents
Death Certificate
Typographical errors in the

names, sex, date of birth, etc.
The names of children aged 014 old are not in the
compliance forms distributed
to health centers and/or
schools

Birth Certificate; Certificate of

Enrollment (if aged 6-14 years
old); Certification of
Enrollment at Health Center
(if aged 0-5 years old)
Birth Certificate (National
Statistics Office)
Certificates of Enrollment from
the health center and/or
school signed by Department
Head or School Principal
[Page 90]
Final Report
October 2011
ANNEX G
THE GRIEVANCE AND REDRESS SYSTEM
The principles used in the GRS are:
1. Simplicity & Accessibility - procedures will be simple and easy to understand; grievances
may be submitted through a range of means accessible to all elements of the
community.
2. Transparency - system will be publicized to a broad audience at all levels and to a
variety of different actors; complainants will be provided with feedback on the outcome
of each complaint.
3. Empowering and Participatory - communities, project staff, organizations and the media
are encouraged to bring complaints to the attention of project management and the
community at large; communities will have an active role in overseeing the program and
ensuring complaints are reported and acted upon.
4. Timeliness - minimum response times are included in these guidelines to ensure
grievances are handled in a timely manner.
5. Right of appeal - channels for appeal will be available if complainants are not satisfied
with the resolution of their problem.
6. Confidentiality - the identity of complainants will remain confidential unless otherwise
requested.
7. Pro-community - the purpose of the GRS is to resolve community complaints to
maximize access to the benefits of the 4Ps, not to punish officials and community
members for inadvertent administrative errors or legitimate inability to meet program
conditions.
Objectives
Primary:
To facilitate due process in resolving complaints and grievances related to program
implementation.
Specifically:
1. Provide rapid and due process in resolving complaints
2. Capture data on vulnerabilities in the program implementation to effect refinements and
improvements
3. Empower communities and civil society to oversee and ensure accountability in program
implementation.

[Page 91]
Final Report
October 2011
Nature of Grievance
There are three natures of grievances:
1. Queries
Targeting / Selection; Conditions / Compliance; Service Providers; Payments
2. Requests
Inclusion in program / registration
Appeals on compliance
Service Providers
Payment schemes, etc.
3. Complaints
Grievance Procedure

[Page 92]
Final Report
October 2011
Types of Complaints
The following complaints are entertained by the Grievance and Redress System:
TYPOLOGY
Exclusion Error
Inclusion Error
Registration
Payment
Service Providers
Compliance
External Pressure
Corruption / Extortion /
Embezzlement / Fraud
DESCRIPTION
Complaint from an individual excluded from the
beneficiary list who feels s/he should be included
Complaint about an individual registered as a
beneficiary who is considered by the complainant to
be ineligible to receive 4Ps cash payments
Potential beneficiaries not able to attend validation /
assemblies
Lateness
Payment amount lower/higher than entitlement
Payment cut off inappropriately
Problems with ATM cards or alternative payment
systems
Closed facility
Absent personnel
Slow service
Inadequate facilities
Complaint from beneficiary wishing to appeal against
sanction for non-compliance
Pressure applied on beneficiaries through the
imposition of additional conditions or coercion to
work/participate on community programs/projects
Collection of fees/extortion by concerned service
providers
False information
Other related issues
RESOLUTION TIME FRAME

Each grievance is given a time frame within which it is expected to be resolved, to wit:
PHASE
Receipt of Grievance,
Clarification, Entry into MIS,
Categorization and
Distribution
Fact Finding
Complaint Resolution
Feedback to Complainant
Appeal (Regional Grievance)
Appeal (National Grievance)
WORKING DAYS
ACCUMULATED DAYS
5
15
3
15
30
8
23
26
41
71

[Page 93]
Final Report
October 2011
Summary of Complaints per Grievance Monitor / Level

Monitor / Level
Parent-Leader / Municipal Link
Regional Focal Person

(receive-categorize-distribute)
Provincial Grievance Committee
Regional Grievance Committee
National Grievance Committee
Grievance
Inquiry
(for resolution)
Targeting
(for resolution)
Registration (for resolution)
Payment
Supply Side /Service Provider
Compliance and Appeals
Municipal Link
External Pressure
Corruption and other related
complaints
Supply Side /Service Provider
External Pressure
complaints
complaints
GRS TOOLS
There area two GRS tools used in processing a grievance:
Grievance Form 1 - Complaint Form for Beneficiaries

Grievance Form 2 - Complaint Form for Non-Beneficiaries
END

[Page 94]

Changes and Challenges - A Situational Analysis of The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of The DSWD in The SOCSKSARGEN Area

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Changes and Challenges - A Situational Analysis of The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of The DSWD in The SOCSKSARGEN Area

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Situational Analysis Study on the

Conducted for CORDAID by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

July 2011 to August 2011

Commonly-Used Abbreviations and Acronyms

BACKGROUND OF THE FIELD STUDY

OVERVIEW OF THE AREA OF COVERAGE

OTHER SOCIAL PROTECTION PROGRAMS IN THE STUDY AREA

ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSIONS

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

COMMONLY USED ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

Asian Development Bank

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

Pantawid Program of DSWD, particularly in the SOCSKSARGEN Sub-Region of Region XII,

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

I. BACKGROUND OF THE FIELD STUDY

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

B. Approach and Methodology

3. Beneficiaries of the Pantawid Program

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

II. OVERVIEW OF THE AREA OF COVERAGE

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

A. Respondents Of The Field Study

2. Mr. Rene Punzalan

3. Hon. Hasim Benito

BLGU of Pananag, Maasim

5. Mr. Daniel Losaes

6. Hon. Rene Dalingga

7. Mrs. Precy Lamigo

Head Teacher III

Luhib Elementary School

8. Hon. Alfredo Belgica

9. Mrs. Nelida Pereira

10. Hon. Banengen Ali

BLGU of San Jose, Gen.

11. Hon. Hasim Kusain

12. Mr. Abdul Hain

BLGU of Wal, Palimbang,

14. Bong Pepito

4. Mr. Kilroy Luntao

(SP) of South Cotabato

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

Pantawid Program Beneficiaries

Pantawid Program Parent

Brgy. San Jose

Member, Womens Group

Brgy. Sta Cruz, Alabel

Pob., Lake Sebu

Daughter-in-Law of Zenaida B. Tuhitum

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

10. Cristine Aradilles

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

Gen. Santos City

III. OTHER SOCIAL PROTECTION PROGRAMS IN THE AREA

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, Fastfacts, Region 12 in Focus (a brochure)

Submitted by Ahmed Harris R. Pangcoga