The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the country’s flagship poverty reduction initiative, is effectively reaching its intended beneficiaries – yet persistent data accuracy challenges and urban-rural disparities are hampering its full potential, according to a new study from the 蝌蚪传媒 (蝌蚪传媒).
The report, titled “,” was presented at a 蝌蚪传媒-hosted webinar on May 22 and assesses the veracity and targeting precision of the program, mandated under Republic Act No. 11310.
Among its major findings: nine out of 10 4Ps beneficiaries belong to the poorest half of Filipino households, and nearly 88 percent are within the bottom five per capita income deciles – figures that align favorably with international benchmarks for similar conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs.
“There has always been criticism against the 4Ps database that they may not all be really poor… but they are still low-income,” said Dr. Jose Ramon Albert, 蝌蚪传媒 senior research fellow and lead author of the study.
Strong Targeting, But with Caveats
The study revealed that 71.9 percent of 4Ps beneficiaries come from the bottom three income deciles, pointing to strong progressive targeting.
Only a minimal portion of beneficiaries fall into the top income deciles, suggesting relatively low inclusion errors.
“This shows that the system generally works in directing aid to those who need it most,” Albert said. “But the challenge lies in the timeliness and accuracy of the data.”
While static information like names, birthdates and household addresses were found to be 99 percent accurate, dynamic data such as income, education, and employment status were considerably less reliable. Variables like marital status and employment consistency hovered between 37.7 percent and 67.4 percent accuracy.
“There are things that change very fast… even cell phone numbers,” Albert added. “So we need to find a way of making sure that we are constantly updating information.”
The lag is partly attributed to the 15-year gap between the original Listahanan data collection (2008–2009) and the 2024 verification survey, allowing considerable demographic and economic shifts to go unrecorded.
