key messages◊ this policy note1 discusses specific design factors of the philippines’ pantawid pamilyang pilipino program (4ps) and identifies areas for potential adjustments. drawing from technical reviews and evidence, it offers policy recommendations to enhance the 4ps’ effectiveness in addressing the country’s poverty and human capital challenges.◊ to sustain the program’s growth and success, continuous enhancement of core program functions is needed. 4ps is the country’s major conditional cash transfer program, which has contributed to poverty reduction and crisis response in the past 15 years. ensuring its sustainability requires enhancements in several areas including targeting (enrollment and graduation decisions), payment mechanisms, and adjustments of benefit amounts. ◊ the targeting system for social protection programs such as 4ps, should be significantly improved to achieve the intended outcomes. although the social registry, listahanan, was recognized for its objective targeting and excellent performance in identifying the poorest and most vulnerable when introduced, the lack of mechanisms to make data more up-to-date has led to challenges. most notably, early intervention has become challenging with the inability to capture pregnant women and young children in poverty. three actions can be taken to address the situation:1 the note was supported under the social protection advisory services and analytics of the world bank – australian government department of foreign affairs and trade (dfat) and prepared as part of the philippines human capital review carried out in collaboration with the national economic and development authority. authors of this note are camilo gudmalin, yoonyoung cho, ruth rodriguez, and laarni revilla from the world bank.public disclosure authorizedpublic disclosure authorizedpublic disclosure authorizedpublic disclosure authorized strengthening the philippines’ pantawid pamilyang pilipino program2 »expedite beneficiary revalidation using the latest database to facilitate the entry of new households and exit of relatively better-off ones. »continue to collaborate with other agencies in shifting from a census-based static registry to a dynamic social registry that utilizes advances in digital technologies. »adopt and utilize the national id (philsys) across multiple databases and systems, facilitating their interoperability, to help accurate data updates. ◊ the benefits provided to 4ps households should be adjusted. the value of 4ps grants has eroded significantly over time without inflation adjustments. some supplemental benefits, including rice subsidies, were added, and the 4ps act in 2019 increased the benefits. nonetheless, the level remains low, with the real value of 4ps grants in 2022 estimate to have fallen by 20 percent since 2019. this note proposes two actions: »introduce a mechanism to adjust the benefit amount for inflation and other shocks and assess the adequacy of benefits more frequently. »consider reallocating benefits between different age groups of children, depending on their needs and the program objectives.◊ 4ps can provide proactive case management support to beneficiaries. this is especially needed given that a maximum of seven years was set by the 4ps act in 2019 but its implications are yet unclear. whether the maximum duration is sufficient to help a poor household escape poverty is debatable. the establishment of 4ps’ kilos unlad seven-year framework for case management to facilitate the graduation of households within the maximum period is a positive development, which the following actions can complement: »continue the proactive and intensive case management support to beneficiaries to ensure the program’s effectiveness even within a shorter intervention period. »ensure coordination with other agencies to support families graduating from the program.◊ 4ps made steady progress in digital payments, but the program needs to invest in raising beneficiaries’ awareness and financial literacy. as of december 2023,2 around 94 percent of active households received grants digitally, of whom most (91%) can access financial transactions through basic deposit accounts. the actual use of transaction accounts beyond receiving benefits can be promoted: »raise beneficiaries’ awareness and financial literacy through family development sessions. »consider policy options allowing beneficiaries to choose from multiple payment service providers.2 monthly report on pantawid pamilyang pilipino program implementation, december 2023 strengthening the philippines’ pantawid pamilyang pilipino program3introduction the pantawid pamilyang pilipino program (4ps) is a conditional cash transfer (cct) program that provides cash to beneficiary households subject to their compliance wi