Selected Social Safety Net Programs in the Philippines. Targeting, Cost Effectiveness, and option for Reform.

To ease transitional problems during stabilization and structural reform and to protect the well-being of the poor, the Government of the Philippines have focussed on three major 'safety net' programs. Although substantial resources have been devoted to theses programs, few studies have been devoted to these programs, few studies have reviewed their impact on the poor. This study attemps to fill this gap. The study examines the effectiveness of the safety net programs from the perspectives of targeting, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability. The analysis suggests that the poorest income groups and regions are not receiving their share of benefits from the food subsidy program and that even the small amount of income transfered to the poor is achievable at a high cost.