Launched in 2007, the conditional cash transfer program gives conditional cash grants to indigent families who have kids ages 14 years old and below. A P500 monthly cash grant is given for health and nutrition expenses while P300 monthly cash grant is given per child for educational expenses. Only a maximum of 3 children per household are allowed to receive stipends, for a maximum total of P1,400 (about $32.90) a month for a household with at least 3 children. In return, beneficiaries are required to send their children to school, and the mothers must go for regular prenatal or postnatal care. However, a study conducted by Dr. Celia Reyes of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies showed that the Aquino government`s centerpiece anti-poverty program will not lift millions of Filipinos out of poverty because of its limited scope. Reyes, senior research fellow at the PIDS, explained the program does not make the beneficiaries qualified to have jobs, an essential requirement for them to overcome poverty.
