The goal of improving the lives of the people entails not only pursuing economic growth and eradication of poverty and inequality but also providing inclusive social protection floors and systems, a vital factor in ensuring that no one is left behind – the central transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG Indicator 1.3.1 particularly monitors the proportion of the population covered by social protection floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newborns, work-injury victims, and the poor and the vulnerable. Currently classified globally as Tier 2, the indicator is conceptually clear and has internationally established methodology and standards, but data are not regularly produced. In the Philippines, however, SDG Indicator 1.3.1 is not included in the SDG Watch despite the need for effective coverage of social protection when the population faces pandemic and economic risks. To address this concern, this paper sought to review data gaps in measuring the indicator in the country, introduce localized definitions, concepts, and methods of computation through a proposed operational framework, and measure the effective coverage of social protection programs according to various contingencies. While the goal is to cover all nine series under the indicator, data availability and accessibility were found to be significant challenges. Thus, this paper is only limited to measuring social protection coverage through five series – the proportion of the population in the Philippines covered by at least one social protection cash benefits (Series A), the proportion of children in the Philippines covered by social protection cash benefits (Series B), the proportion of older persons in the Philippines receiving a pension (Series G), the proportion of vulnerable persons in the Philippines receiving social protection cash benefits (Series H), and the proportion of the poor population in the Philippines receiving social protection cash benefits (Series I).

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