MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved on Tuesday, June 11, a proposal by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to provide cash grants to pregnant and lactating women under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

In a press release, the Presidential Communications Office said Marcos had tasked the DSWD and the National Economic and Development Authority during a sectoral meeting on Tuesday to “draw up the final numbers.”

“With this step, we can ensure the health and nutrition of children in the crucial first 1,000 days of their life,” Marcos added in Filipino in an Instagram post.

The proposal seeks to increase 4Ps beneficiaries’ purchasing power, and combat malnutrition and stunting among Filipino children, Malacañang said.

The Department of Health said in 2023 that one in four kids under 5 years old in the Philippines face impaired growth due to poor nutrition.

The United Nations Children’s Fund also said that the Philippines was among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of number of stunted children.

Currently, beneficiary-families under 4Ps get education grants from P300 to P700 per child per month for 10 months every year, depending on the child’s schooling status.

The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program is an institutionalized poverty reduction strategy of the Philippine government, under which the poorest households receive cash subsidies as long as they comply with certain conditions.

The program was launched during the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and was expanded during the term of the late Benigno Aquino III. In 2019, Rodrigo Duterte made 4Ps a law, requiring every administration after him to implement the program. – Rappler.com