Leyte Governor Carlos
Jericho Petilla pointed this to DSWD-8 officials and other
representatives of various government agencies as he shared his
experience on the Study Tour made by the Philippine Government last May
to Mexico to observe on the latter’s implementation of
“Oportunidades” - a Conditional Cash Transfer Program now being
emulated here through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.
Gov. Petilla stressed
the need to conduct resurveys to validate and update its database of
indigents conducted during the Department of Social Welfare and
Development-National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction
(DSWD-NHTS-PR).
The survey list was
made basis of the DSWD 4Ps expansion program. The 4Ps project awards
cash grants for nutrition and schooling needs of kids belonging to
indigent families.
“In my recent visits
to the barangays, there are poor families who were not included in the
program and yet there are even those who have steady income, and one
even encounter I have was one who sits as barangay chairman who was
included in the indigent family category. I say this defeats the very
purpose of 4Ps,” Gov. Petilla said.
A number of families
have already approached him, the governor said, claiming they are
financially insufficient, with children below 14 years old which are
some of the parameters used in listing a family as indigent under the
NHTS.
Meanwhile, DSWD-8
Regional Director Letecia Corillo said the department is steadily
trying to re-evaluate the list following reports reaching their office
that beneficiaries presently receiving do not belong to destitute
families.
She however pointed
out that those validated to be indigent should religiously follow the
conditions under which the cash help was granted, otherwise they would
also be delisted from the ranks.
To recall, last May
29, 2011, key stakeholders in the implementation of the Philippine
Conditional Cash Transfer Program known as Pantawid Pamilya, led by
DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman and DepEd Secretary Armin
Luistro, went on a WB-AusAID sponsored Study Tour to learn more about
Mexico’s experience with the CCT.
Mexico has been
implementing their own version CCT called Oportunidades for 13 years,
covering a total of 5.2 million households and reaching 25 million
individuals. Their experience and the technologies they have employed
to ensure the effectiveness and stability of the program will greatly
benefit the Philippines as it expands coverage for Pantawid Pamilya to
2.3 million households for 2011.
Aside of ensuring
database accuracy, Gov. Petilla also shared that Mexico’s
“Oportunidades” cover children aged 0-22 years old, while in the
Philippines, 4Ps covers children aged 0-14 years old.
The group observed
that this is one of the areas that will be given attention in
exploring innovations on the coverage and monitoring of the program by
creating tighter linkages to support supply side requirements on
health and education and securing that the program is accepted and
understood across the country.
