Manila: Around 493,000 families from poor households based on the 2026 Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) list will be registered as new beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) after a stringent validation and verification process. This is in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ensure that all poor Filipino families receive appropriate government intervention.
According to Philippines News Agency, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is set to begin the registration process within March after receiving the official CBMS' nationwide list of poor and near-poor families from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao highlighted the importance of the CBMS list in targeting new beneficiaries, emphasizing the impact on families seeking support for health and education.
With the passage of Republic Act No. 11315, or the Community-Based Monitoring System Act, the DSWD has committed to institutionalizing the use of the CBMS as its standardized targeting system in identifying the 4Ps beneficiaries. This policy direction represents a key reform in ensuring that the selection of poor households is guided by a unified, data-driven, and transparent mechanism.
All households included in the new list will still undergo a thorough three-step process - pre-registration, registration proper, and post-registration phase. During the pre-registration phase, a list of prospective beneficiaries will be posted for 15 days by respective barangays to prevent duplication, ensure eligibility, and verify accuracy.
The identification of target beneficiaries will be authenticated through the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), or National ID, while social workers will conduct assessments to confirm each family's eligibility. Dumlao stressed that the names from the CBMS are not final and require further assessment and verification by social workers.
The DSWD's Field Office IV-A (Calabarzon) has begun validating around 11,000 families as potential beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the DSWD's FO 12 (Soccsksargen) has started distributing lists of potential beneficiaries to local chief executives for validation in coordination with 4Ps City and Municipal Operations Offices. Other regions have also commenced their respective validation processes.
After validation at the pre-registration phase, the registration of new beneficiaries will proceed. Once validated and registered, beneficiaries will attend an orientation to understand their responsibilities and benefits, followed by signing an oath of commitment. For the post-registration phase, new 4Ps beneficiaries will be notified about the next steps such as opening payroll accounts.
As more beneficiaries prepare to graduate from the program this year, the inclusion of newly qualified families will enable the 4Ps to continue extending support to those who need it most. The 4Ps is the government's flagship poverty reduction initiative and conditional cash transfer program, providing financial assistance to eligible households to support the health, nutrition, and education of children aged 0-18, with the goal of breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty through sustained investment in human capital.
