58,360 households reactivated to 4Ps

By Jennifer P. Rendon

More than 50,000 households in Western Visayas have been reactivated to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

Belen Gebusion, DSWD-6’s 4Ps division chief and regional program coordinator, said that they were part of the 85,340 households who had earlier been delisted from the program after they were tagged as non-poor.

But based on the mandate of Secretary Rex Gatchalian, the agency conducted the reassessment using the Social Welfare and Development Indicator (SWDI) tool in assessing and monitoring the level of living conditions of the 4Ps households.

The DSWD used the SWDI as a case management tool to determine the progress of the households by measuring their level of well-being in terms of economic sufficiency and social adequacy.

The households are categorized under three levels: Level 1-survival; Level 2-subsistence; and Level 3-self-sufficient.

As a result of the reassessment, it was found that of the 60,116 households who were reassessed, 58,360 households are still within the Levels 1 and 2 category.

“They were still considered poor and were up for reactivation to the program,” Gebusion said.

The reassessment started in August. The DSWD-6 was given from August until September to complete the reassessment.

“But we’re able to complete that as early as August 31,” she said.

The DSWD-6 is now processing the retroactive payment – from January until September – of reactivated households.