Senator Win Gatchalian is urging the government to expand financial assistance beyond beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), citing the growing impact of fuel-driven inflation on near-poor households.

Gatchalian proposed that around 4.4 million 4Ps families receive ₱1,500 monthly for three months, amounting to ₱19.8 billion. He also recommended extending aid to approximately 1.32 million near-poor families—equivalent to a 30 percent expansion of the current beneficiary base—through a one-time ₱2,500 assistance, which would require an additional ₱9.9 billion.

The senator raised the proposal during a public hearing of the Senate PROTECT ad hoc committee, which he chairs, stressing the urgency of cushioning vulnerable sectors from further economic strain.

“The most important problem that we need to address is ensuring that those who are already poor do not become even poorer, and those who are near-poor do not fall into poverty,” Gatchalian said.

Based on Senate estimates, the 4.1 percent inflation rate recorded in March reduced the monthly purchasing power of poor households by as much as ₱568. Low-income or near-poor families saw even steeper losses, ranging from ₱569 to ₱1,137.

The Senate panel warned that if inflation rises further to between 4.6 percent and 5.5 percent, projected losses could reach ₱638 to ₱762 for poor households and ₱638 to as much as ₱1,526 for low-income families—figures that exceed the government’s 2 to 4 percent inflation target.

Gatchalian emphasized the need for timely government intervention to prevent more families from slipping deeper into poverty as economic pressures persist.