Limits to Transformational Potential: Analysing Entitlement and Agency within a Conditional Cash Transfer Program in the Philippines

Abstract

Despite serving as the Philippines’ main social protection strategy, debate continues surrounding the ability of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to meet its long-term goal of breaking cycles of intergenerational poverty. To engage with this debate, this study brings together the constructs of entitlement and agency to analyse how different actors associated with 4Ps understand and experience the program. Drawing on forty-three semi-structured interviews with 4Ps beneficiaries, non-beneficiaries, and implementers, we provide a provisional explanation as to why a disconnect exists between the long-term goals of 4Ps and the experiences with the program among these different actors. In addition, this study highlights how challenges associated with the design and implementation of 4Ps, including limited transparency and communication of the program’s eligibility requirements, rigid monitoring of beneficiary compliance, and delays in receiving cash transfers, may constrain the transformational potential of this social protection strategy.

Examining the Association Between Household Enrollment in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and Wasting and Stunting Status Among Children Experiencing Poverty in the Philippines: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…6 , 20 An interaction term between geography type and household enrollment in 4Ps was included because of the heterogeneous implementation of the program, as well as a recognition that varying experiences of 4Ps participants across different regions may moderate the association of 4Ps with stunting and wasting among children. 11 , 21 , 22 …”

“…6,20 An interaction term between geography type and household enrollment in 4Ps was included because of the heterogeneous implementation of the program, as well as a recognition that varying experiences of 4Ps participants across different regions may moderate the association of 4Ps with stunting and wasting among children. 11,21,22 Statistical Analyses Descriptive statistics. Descriptive statistics were calculated to determine differences in sociodemographic characteristics of children in households enrolled and not enrolled in 4Ps to understand patterns in sociodemographic factors through which 4Ps may potentially be associated with the nutritional status of children.…”

The neocolonial logics underpinning the “war on drugs” in the Philippines

“…Meanwhile, industries located in special economic zones were responsible for over 73 percent of Filipino exports in 2011, but only for 2% of employed workers (Chew 2022). The outcome of those neoliberal policies has been that despite decades of economic growth, the situation of low-income households has not improved (Dodd et al 2022). A large part of the population is either unemployed or precariously employed in the informal economy, which accounts for 70% of economic transactions (Porio 2015).…”

“…The main social protection strategy, the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4P), is a conditional cash transfer programme sponsored by the World Bank, which currently benefits three in every four poor households (Capuno 2022). The 4P has two goals: to provide social assistance to reduce poverty in the shortterm, and to disrupt the intergenerational cycle of poverty by improving children's health and education (Dodd et al 2022). The programme has continuously expanded since its early start in 2007 in both population coverage and budget allocation (Dodd et al 2022).…”

Moving beyond stereotype: A qualitative study of long‐standing recipients of the Indonesian conditional cash transfers (CCT/PKH)

“…In Southeast Asia, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is a CCT program that was launched in 2008 in the Philippines (Dodd et al, 2022). The program offers financial assistance ranging from P500 ($11) to P1,400 ($32) per month to eligible families, with the grant amount based on the number of children in the household and the children's education and healthcare requirements.…”