An update of the Philippine conditional cash transfer?s implementation performance

The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Pantawid Pamilya) is the Philippines? national conditional cash transfer (CCT) program. The program provides cash grants to poor households that have limited capacity to invest in their children?s future and well-being. This note is the second benefit incidence analysis of the Philippines? conditional cash transfer program conducted by a World Bank team that uses standard measures to assess the implementation performance of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. The authors show that despite the program?s rapid expansion since it was piloted in 2007, it maintains good targeting accuracy, progressivity, and costefficiency in delivering assistance to the poor. The authors also show that Pantawid Pamilya helps reduce short term poverty by closing the income gap of beneficiary households by up to 7.4 percentage points, helping them afford their basic needs. Among beneficiaries, the program reduces food poverty and total poverty by up to 6.7 percentage points. To maintain the program?s relevance, adequacy of assistance, sustained impact on beneficiary welfare, and adjustments in the benefit level and program coverage at a sustainable level are recommended.