JV Ejercito urges DSWD: Clean up 4Ps list of beneficiaries, put safeguards vs. cuts in transfers
April 15, 2023
Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on
Wednesday asked the Department of Social Welfare and Development to clean up
its list of beneficiaries under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)
in ensuring that only the poorest of the poor will receive financial assistance
from the program.
During the Senate Committee on Finance’s
hearing on the agency’s proposed budget, Ejercito revealed that some 4Ps
beneficiaries received only half of the conditional cash transfer that is due
to them.
“Ang magiging challenge niyo siguro dito yung
cleaning up the list. I just would like to report to you may mga information
tayo: alam niyo naman, may mga iba diyan talagang mahusay, doon sa mga
beneficiaries, kalahati lang po ang binibigay, yung kalahati hindi po
binibigay,” he said.
The 4Ps is one of the national government’s
human development measures. It seeks to provide conditional cash grants to the
poorest of the poor and improve the health, nutrition, and education of
Filipino children.
The program was institutionalized in 2018
after President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11310 into law.
By putting safeguards in place, the lawmaker
from San Juan said the DSWD can prevent officials from getting cuts from the
conditional cash transfers intended for their indigent constituents.
“We can have safeguards, kasi nakakaawa. These
are really meant to help alleviate poverty, matulungan talaga yung
nangangailangan, talagang mapunta talaga ito sa talagang nangangailangan, sa
poorest of the poor,” he said.
“Nangyayari ito. Nagka-cut pa yung iba.
Nakakalungkot, this shouldn’t be happening,” he added.
Citing the upward trend in the proposed budget
for 4Ps beneficiaries in recent years, Ejercito urged the DSWD to implement an
exit mechanism for 4Ps beneficiaries and expedite the delisting of 4Ps
beneficiaries who are no longer poor.
“Yung kailangan tulungan, siyempre, kailangan
tulungan. Pero it seems that we are already encouraging a culture of mendicancy
kapag ganitong palaki na ng palaki,” he said.
He also asked the national government to
rethink its poverty alleviation measures, arguing that infrastructure
development can serve better as the backbone of the country’s anti-poverty
program and economic recovery efforts.
“Probably, with the direction that the
President wants to rebuild our economy, massive infrastructure development will
really spread out the development and create opportunities,” he said.
