The announcement of ADB support for social services came as the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) marked 60 years of tackling poverty in the country at a ceremony in the capital, Manila.

A technical assistance grant of $1.4 million from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), and administered by ADB, will be used to formulate an action plan for priority social protection schemes, while identifying those which should be phased out.

'By addressing leakage, inefficiency and misalignment under the current fractured social protection programs, the government can provide a better safety net against short-term vulnerabilities, and break the longer-term vicious cycle of cross-cutting, and often inter-generational poverty,' said Chris Spohr, Senior Education Economist at ADB's Southeast Asia Department.

The grant will help the government identify key medium- and longer-term policy reforms, support increased and more efficient budget allocation, enhance program targeting and delivery, and improve efficiency and sustainability of the social protection system.

The Philippine government has initiated an accelerated social protection policy reform agenda, with the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program as its cornerstone program. Outside of the CCT program, there are other social protection programs that lack resources, policy direction, and agency coordination.

The grant will also support the DSWD and other government agencies in holding policy dialogues across multiple stakeholders, develop and build consensus around an action plan of priority reforms, and train people in national and local institutions to implement the program. Complementing the policy reforms, the grant will also assist CCT beneficiaries to look for other resources, including training programs for rural development and employment, to help them escape poverty.

As a key element of that action plan, the grant will also assist DSWD and other agencies to better link programs, helping CCT beneficiaries access other resources, including rural development programs and training aimed at employment to reduce poverty.

In September 2010, ADB approved a $400 million loan to support the CCT by providing direct financial support to the country's poorest families. Unlike traditional welfare programs, only families who agree to keep their children in school and ensure that children and pregnant women use regular health services can receive the cash grants.