The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program Ten Years Hence: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward from a Decade of Implementing the Largest Conditional Cash Transfer Program in Southeast Asia

In the case of the Philippines, various social protection programs had been – and are continually being implemented through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 1 ,[r]

The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program Ten Years Hence: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward from a Decade of Implementing the Largest Conditional Cash Transfer Program in

Southeast Asia

Rachel Mary Anne Arca Basas* De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde

Introduction

Over the years, countries all over the world have achieved a marked increase in their economic growth rates as reflected in their respective GNPs and GDPs The entry of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 accelerated the achievement of various goals, most remarkably improvements in education and health outcomes in developing countries However, despite this catalyst, the poor, vulnerable, and disadvantaged populations continue to benefit little from these progresses which not seem to trickle down to the individual level In addition, this sector of society is struggling to escape from the vicious and intergenerational cycle of poverty This is where the government and its social protection systems come in Social protection systems, according to the World Bank, help the poor and vulnerable “mitigate economic and fiscal shocks”i, and at the same time, gives them “a chance to climb out of poverty”.ii Given this context, which is also supported by various studies - social protection systems are the way out from intergenerational cycle of poverty through investments in human capital development

Social protection systems figure in the Sustainable Development Goals Specifically, governments are called upon to implement “nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and vulnerable”iii In fact, the World Bank’s annual lending for implementation of social protection programs had reached USD $14.67 billion as of April 2018iv

As investments in human capital, social protection systems target improved health and education outcomes In the case of the Philippines, various social protection programs had been – and are continually being implemented through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)1, the government’s arm in “formulating, implementing, and coordinating social welfare and development policies and programs”v in the country – the largest being the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program2 A conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, Pantawid invests in human capital development through providing monetary support to the beneficiaries’ education and health in the short term and reducing the vicious cycle of poverty in the long term

* Assistant Professorial Lecturer, Consular and Diplomatic Affairs Program, School of Diplomacy and Governance

De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde The author may be contacted via email at rachel.basas@gmail.com 1 Hereafter referred to as “DSWD”

Figure Two-Pronged Goals of Pantawid (Image is author’s own)

First designed and implemented in Latin Americavi, conditional cash transfers were shown to improve health and education outcomes among beneficiaries in the countries where this scheme has been implemented To date, CCT programs have been implemented in 16 Latin American countries since 1997vii, with the biggest scope and budgetary allocation belonging to Mexico’s Oportunidades3 and Brazil’s Bolsa Familia However, there is no such extant

scheme in Southeast Asia until 2006 when the Philippine government under the leadership of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo decided to adopt, localise, and implement the program in the Philippine context, effectively making the Philippines the first Southeast Asian country to implement a CCT program On the side of the Philippines, Pantawid effectively became its flagship social protection program, given the scope and magnitude of its coverage, and the funding allocated to implement it

Following in the footsteps of Mexico’s Oportunidades, the Philippines’ Pantawid also targeted the improvement of education and health of children and lactating mothers It is now the 4th largest CCT program in the world, after Brazil’s Bolsa Familia, Mexico’s Oportunidades, and Colombia’s Familias en Acciónviii As of March 2017, Pantawid covers 4.38 Million household

beneficiariesix across 80 provinces and 17 regions of the Philippines

3 Known as Progresa when it was first launched in 1997; the program name was changed to Oportunidades in

Figure Number of Pantawid Active Households as of 31 March 2017x

Objectives and Scope of the Paper

Employing secondary research, the paper aims to identify the lessons learned and ways forward from a decade of implementing Southeast Asia’s largest conditional cash program In doing this, the paper reviews the rich literature on the subject, recounts the political, economic, and social rationale of CCTs, and reviews evidence especially the impact evaluations to draw lessons and good practices that can be continued and emulated by other countries currently implementing CCT or planning to implement such program

Given the specific scope of the paper, discussions on Conditional Cash Transfer as a lone subject are confined only on its most important aspects: its rationale, origins, and present state The Philosophical Framework of CCTs and the specific details of its implementation in Latin America are not discussed in-depth Similarly, formulas showing the calculation of the data presented are also not discussed, as well as the ensuing debate over the advantages and disadvantages of CCTs and their conditionalities

To facilitate discussion, the succeeding parts of this paper is divided into three sections The following section surveys the socio-political context surrounding the implementation of

Pantawid It also outlines the evolution of the program through the years, highlighting how

the program changed with each succeeding administration Succeeding this is an account on funding, program design and mechanisms, organisation and institutional arrangements, and outcomes The paper then ends with lessons learned and ways forward

Contribution to Research

A plethora of studies focus on identifying the strengths and weaknesses of CCT as a program, exploring the possibilities of improving it, and recommending alternatives Existing literature

Luzon, 40.60%, 1,780,141 households Visayas, 20.33%

891,482 households Mindanao, 39.07%

1,713,015 households

Number of Active Households As of 31 March 2017

in the form of reports and program briefs focus on the singular experience of countries implementing the CCT This is exceptionally true in CCT literature on Latin America where most of the countries adopted Mexico’s Oportunidades and Brazil’s Bolsa Familia However, there are but very few academic literature focusing on the experience of countries outside Latin America, especially the Asian experience While CCT programs exist in South Asia, most notably in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, there is no such program in Southeast Asia until

Pantawid came in Through this paper, the researcher hopes to bridge this gap and contribute

to the existing literature on Conditional Cash Transfers through featuring the Southeast Asian experience through the Philippine implementation of Pantawid It is hoped that this contribution generates further research on the subject

Discussion

The Socio-Political Context

The Philippine adoption of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 translated to the incorporation and integration of each of the eight goals into the government’s national development plans, with interventions for poverty, education, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, and the environment expedited as identified priority areasxi The mechanisms to address the welfare of the poor, vulnerable, and disadvantaged fall under the area of social protection programs, with conditional cash transfer as the scheme enjoying primus interpares status in the developing world

Pantawid was conceptualised in late 2006 when the DSWD together with the World Bank

started implementing the National Sector Support for Social Welfare and Development Project (NSS-SWDRP) as an alternative poverty reduction strategy replacing fuel subsidy

Pantawid was seen as one of the interventions embodying MDG goals 1-5, and at the same

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program through the Years

Figure Evolution of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Image is author’s own)

Pantawid is one of the few initiatives by a Philippine president that has been continued by

the succeeding presidents The program has spanned three administrations, from Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s (2006-2010) to Benigno Aquino’s III (2010-2016) and on to Rodrigo Duterte’s administration (2016 to present)

As the initiating administration, the Arroyo administration established the foundations for the implementation of the program Known as “Ahon Pamilyang Pilipino Program”4 in its pilot run, it covered only six municipalities and two cities5xiv Given the positive reception and initial results, the Arroyo administration decided to scale up the program to include more provinces and municipalities and began changing the name of the program to its current name

The Aquino administration continued the efforts of the preceding administration and did much more given the full term which amounted to six years The first wave of impact evaluation began in 2011, with the results published in 2013 The findings indicated that the beneficiaries spent more on medical and food expenses per capita than non-Pantawid households and spent less on adult goods such as alcohol and cigarettes An increase in savings among beneficiary households was also indicated in the studyxv

Aside from beginning the conduct of impact evaluation studies, the Aquino administration also expanded the coverage of children beneficiaries from 0-14 years old to 0-18 years old

4 Roughly translated as “Rise, Filipino Family” Program

5 The municipalities covered were in Mindanao, while the cities were in Metro Manila

2007–2010

Arroyo Administration • Pilot Testing of the Ahon

Pamilyang Pilipino program (2007)

• Scale-up and Launching of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (2008)

2010–2016

Aquino Administration

•Expansion of coverage to 0-18 years old from 0-14 years old •1st batch of high school

student beneficiaries graduated1

•Impact Evaluation studies began

2016 – present

Duterte Administration • Introduction of Rice

subsidies (Php 600.00/~USD 11.75 monthly)

• Kamustahan Review and Exit Strategy Formulation • Pantawid Law - RA 11310

His administration was also where the first batch of student beneficiaries graduated from high school

After Aquino finished his term and Duterte assumed office, the beneficiaries were uncertain as to whether the program shall be continued or terminated Duterte in his presidential campaign - and even after he won the elections – promised to mobilise the government machinery to fight crime, corruption, and drugs This rendered the future of the program under his presidency hazy and ambiguous

In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), Duterte promised the Philippine public that the program will continue under his watch However, just two years into his term, Duterte infused a plethora of policy changes to the program: the formulation of Exit Strategy, conduct of Kumustahan sessions among the beneficiaries, and the inclusion of rice subsidies on top of the cash grants These policy changes are all novel to the program – the previous administrations have not articulated clearly an exit strategy for the beneficiaries, which also figured in several studies on the program by various researchers and scholars While the Exit Strategy is still being finalised as of writing this paper, Duterte’s initiative clearly shows his desire to make the beneficiaries self-reliant and self-sustaining even after Pantawid Meanwhile, the Kumustahan sessions are initiatives where the Department Secretary visits the beneficiaries and interviews them herself (hence, the term Kumustahan, which roughly translates to “How are you” sessions) This is done in order to gather information from the beneficiaries themselves on how the program has impacted their lives, and how they see themselves now and, in the future, when they would have “graduated” from the program The inclusion of rice subsidies on top of the grants was one of the promises of Duterte in his SONA, where he vowed to “reduce the vulnerabilities of our people, increase their resiliency and empower individuals, families and communities”xvi This announcement garnered various reactions, since the grants are already given for food, education, and health expenditures of the beneficiaries, and due to Duterte’s announcement, rice subsidies on top of, amounting to Php 600.00/~USD 11.77 monthly

In addition to all of the abovementioned improvements on policy, a phenomenon that can be considered an achievement of the Duterte administration is the passage of the Pantawid Law Named “Republic Act 11310: An Act Institutionalizing the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)”, the law ensures that the Program will be able to continue its thrust of breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty by developing human capital As of writing, the implementing rules and regulations that will carry out the provisions of the law are being formulated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in coordination with appropriate government departments and agencies with the participation of local government unitsxvii

Funding

in large part by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank6 Counterpart from the Philippine government gradually formed part of the budget for the program as the years went on, along with Technical Assistance shouldered by both the World Bank and the Australian government through the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)

Figure Pantawid Annual Budget in Billion Pesosxviii

As a priority program of the Philippine government, the budget for Pantawid in its initial years has been included by the DSWD in its Medium-Term Expenditure Plan (2008-2013) and has been included in the General Appropriations Act in the succeeding years up to the present Now that the program has been made into law, the funding will be sustainable as it will come from the government Treasury

Program Design and Mechanisms

The identification of Pantawid beneficiaries is done through Listahanan, formerly known as the “National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction” Listahanan is a database containing the data of “who and where the poor are in the Philippines”xix It is only through being in the Listahanan that households can be enrolled in Pantawid

From the database, DSWD identifies households with pregnant women members and children 0-18 years old These households then receive both health and education grants, with the former amounting to Php 500.00 (~USD 9.81) per household monthly (Php 6,000.00/~USD 117.67 annually), and the latter amounting to Php 300.00 (~USD 5.88) per 6 “The World Bank provided funding support for the first and second phases of expansion, while ADB funded

part of the second phase and the third phase of expansion AusAID has supported the Pantawid Pamilya since 2008 by financing the World Bank’s technical assistance to DSWD in designing and implementing the Pantawid Pamilya and also by providing direct technical assistance to DSWD” (Fernandez and Olfindo 2011, p 2)

0.05 0.3 10

21.19

39.45 44.25

62.6 62.3 62.7

78.2 89.41

0 20 40 60 80 100

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Bi

lli

on

Pe

sos

Year of Implementation Pantawid Annual Budget

In Billion Pesos

child monthly for 10 months (Php 3,000.00/~USD 58.83 annually), with a maximum of children per household These grants are given directly to the beneficiaries through Landbank, the principal channel for distributing cash grants Beneficiaries are given ATM cards per household for the withdrawal of cash grants from ATMs

For them to continue receiving grants, they must comply with the following conditionalities: Health check-ups for pregnant women and children aged 0–5;

2 Deworming of schoolchildren aged 6-14;

3 Enrolment of children in daycare, elementary, and secondary schools; and Attendance of parents/guardians to Family Development Sessions

The program is designed such that the recipients of the cash grants per household are the most responsible adults However, as seen in program implementation, most household beneficiaries designate women as the recipients of the grants This arrangement helps in the empowerment of women and worked toward the achievement of SDG on Gender Equality While Listahanan targets beneficiaries, onward data from program implementation goes straight to the Pantawid Systems, namely, the Beneficiary Data and Management System (BDMS), Compliance Verification System (CVS), and Grievance Redress System (GRS) These systems contain beneficiary information from their profiles and primary information, to their compliance to health and education conditions and their grievances and complaints, if any Any changes in these information require proper documentation which can be processed through the City or Municipal Links assigned to each particular municipality or city

To remedy grievances such as delayed payments, overpayments, non-activation of ATM card, and others, Pantawid has made available several platforms and reporting mechanisms, such as a Mobile Hotline, Email, and various social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter Organisation and Institutional Arrangements

Pantawid is principally implemented by DSWD, with the Departments of Health and

Education as partners in monitoring compliance on health and education conditionalities, respectively The highest policy-making body in Pantawid is the National Advisory Committee (NAC), which comprises representatives from various government and nongovernment agencies The NAC approves policy additions and changes, and also repeals policies that it deems irrelevant Meanwhile, daily operations of the program are managed by the program management offices (PMOs) on both the national (NPMO) and regional (RPMO) levels, with the latter existing in each of the regions of the country The NPMO consolidates all information from the RPMOs Each RPMO, in turn, manages provincial and municipal level staff, and are in-charge of the city and municipal links, the bridge between the program staff and the beneficiaries

geographically disadvantaged and isolated areas (GIDA) They also serve as the “third eye” of the DSWD, providing checks on how the program is implemented on the groundxx

Outcomes

World Bank studiesxxi show that the Program has benefitted 20% of the population, and that children are kept healthy and in schoolxxii

There is also a marked change in spending behaviour: Pantawid families spend more on food, as mentioned in the previous section There is also a marked increase in education and health spending among beneficiariesxxiii The first wave of impact evaluation in 2011 saw that pregnant and lactating beneficiaries avail of antenatal and postnatal care in as high as “six times as compared to non-Pantawid mothers”xxiv In addition, the same study found that enrolment rates in daycare, pre-school, and elementary school are higher in Pantawid barangays than in non-Pantawid onesxxv

Lessons Learned and Ways Forward

Overall and in general, the program is meeting its objectives Spending patterns are altered towards health and education, and the beneficiaries are becoming more aware of the other social programs that the government has for them

While the program has generated positive outcomes, the Philippine experience in implementing CCT for a decade now has generated several lessons that other countries eyeing on implementing a similar scheme must take note of These lessons are enumerated below, in the form of recommendations as well:

A A plethora of reports and studies cite the poor targeting of the DSWD as it delists many of its beneficiaries However, this was only true in Pantawid’s early years As the

Pantawid systems matured through various enhancements and updates, delisting of

beneficiaries is now primarily due to violation of rules, which include fraudulence, pawning of cash cards and participation in illegal gambling, among others Given that the targeting system undergoes continuous improvement, systems to detect these violations and fortify compliance verification must be established, especially when programs such as conditional cash transfer schemes mature

B As a program designed to increase demand, Pantawid relies on supply-side allocations if it is to run efficiently and effectively When it was first implemented, one of the bottlenecks encountered by Pantawid was the lack of- and shortfalls in – supply-side interventions such as the existence of schools and health centres, as well as staffing This experience is worth noting, in that should other countries implement CCT, this must be one of the priority areas to focus on

D From being a program for more than 10 years, Pantawid is now a law Passed by the Senate of the Philippines on February 2019 and adopted by the Philippine House of Representatives on February 2019, the Pantawid law was approved on 17 April 2019 The most salient implication of this law to the Program is that funding is now sustainable as it will come from the government Treasury Also, by virtue of the law, impact assessment of the program shall be done every three (3) years This institutes a regular, periodic assessment of the program, as well as enables the adjustment of grant amounts to the present value using the consumer price index as well as impact assessment results

It is also worthy to note that Indonesia’s conditional cash transfer program was patterned after the Philippine experience A benchmarking effort by the Indonesian delegation in 2011 resulted in the enhancement of Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH), Indonesia’s counterpart to Philippines’ Pantawid Components from Pantawid such as its Grievance Redress System, the conduct of Family Development Sessions, and the establishment of a Social Marketing Unit were adopted by Indonesia in its CCT implementation

Despite the plethora of challenges and criticisms that Pantawid has faced, the program continues to bring positive education, health, and nutrition outcomes From a decade of implementation, it can be said that the Philippine government is successful in surpassing the initial expectations the public has set in the implementation of the CCT program, despite the changes in administration Most importantly, the passage of the Pantawid law ensures that the vision and hopes for breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty through investment in human capital and improved delivery of basic services to the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized will not go to waste

i The World Bank 2018 Social Protection April Accessed April 19, 2018

http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/socialprotection/overview

ii Ibid iii Ibid iv Ibid

v DSWD n.d About Us Accessed April 19, 2018 https://www.dswd.gov.ph/about-us/

vi ELLA Network 2011 "ELLA Publications." ELLA Network November 14 Accessed April 19, 2018

http://ella.practicalaction.org/knowledge-guide/cct-programmes-an-overview-of-the-latin-american-experience/

vii Ibid

viii The World Bank 2017 FAQs about the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program Accessed January 4, 2016

http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/philippines/brief/faqs-about-the-pantawid-pamilyang-pilipino-program

ix Bajo, A 2017 Duterte’s first SONA, one year later: Aid for the poorest families Accessed April 20, 2018

x Ibid

xi UNDP 2012 Fast Facts: The Millennium Development Goals in the Philippines March 30 Accessed April 20,

2018 http://www.ph.undp.org/content/philippines/en/home/library/mdg/fast-facts-MDGs-in-the-Philippines.html

xii Fernandez, Luisa, and Rosechin Olfindo 2011 Overview of the Philippines' Conditional Cash Transfer Program: The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Pantawid Pamilya) Manila: World Bank Group, May

Accessed January 18, 2013

http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2011/07/08/000333038_20110708021205/Rendere d/PDF/628790BRI0Phil0me0abstract0as0no010.pdf

xiii Asian Development Bank 2017 Poverty in the Philippines Accessed April 20, 2018

https://www.adb.org/countries/philippines/poverty

xiv Fernandez, Luisa, and Rosechin Olfindo 2011 Overview of the Philippines' Conditional Cash Transfer Program: The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Pantawid Pamilya) Manila: World Bank Group, May

Accessed January 18, 2013

http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2011/07/08/000333038_20110708021205/Rendere d/PDF/628790BRI0Phil0me0abstract0as0no010.pdf

xv Chaudhury, Nazmul, Jed Friedman, and Junko Onishi 2013 Philippines Conditional Cash Transfer Program Impact Evaluation 2012 The World Bank, 80 Accessed February 18, 2013

xvi Valente, C 2016 Duterte boosts pro-poor package Accessed March 20, 2018

http://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-boosts-pro-poor-package/276004/

xvii Republic Act 11310: An Act Institutionalizing the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Accessed July

18, 2019 https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2019/04apr/20190417-RA-11310-RRD.pdf

xviii General Appropriations Act; Senate Economic Planning Office Policy Brief 2008

xix The World Bank 2016 Philippines: Department of Social Welfare and Development Launches 2015 Database of the Poor April Accessed April 20, 2018

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2016/04/05/department-of-social-welfare-and-development-launches-2015-database-of-the-poor

xx DSWD n.d About Us Accessed April 19, 2018 https://www.dswd.gov.ph/about-us/

xxi The World Bank 2017 FAQs about the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program Accessed January 4, 2016

http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/philippines/brief/faqs-about-the-pantawid-pamilyang-pilipino-program

xxii The World Bank 2016 Completion Report for the Technical Assistance “Impact evaluation of the Philippines CCT Program” Report No.: AUS8365

xxiii Orbeta A., Paqueo V 2016 Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program: Boon or Bane? Philippine Institute for

Development Studies Discussion Paper Series No 2016-56 Accessed March 23, 2017

https://dirp4.pids.gov.ph/websitecms/CDN/PUBLICATIONS/pidsdps1656.pdf

xxiv Chaudhury, Nazmul, Jed Friedman, and Junko Onishi 2013 Philippines Conditional Cash Transfer Program Impact Evaluation 2012 The World Bank, 80 Accessed February 18, 2013