Status of 4Ps implementation discussed in Provincial Committee Meeting

By Provincial Media Relations Center
September 9, 2011

TACLOBAN CITY  –  Over P128 million in conditional cash grant was disbursed to beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in Leyte for January-December 2010; while at least P7 million have already been released to indigent families in the province for the period of January-April 2011.

In the recent 4Ps Provincial Committee Meeting attended by Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-8) Regional Director Letecia C. Diokno and Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla, the Leyte 4Ps team reported the status of releases for the conditional cash grant in the province of Leyte.

The province tallies a total of 66,692 registered beneficiaries from various municipalities all over Leyte.

The recent meeting also discussed were the updates on the implementation of the program, most important of which was the report on the improved database system for 4Ps being conducted by the DSWD in Eastern Visayas.

The DSWD reports over 8,000 beneficiaries have been de-listed from about 168,000 families identified under the program. The delisting of about 8,000 families undertaken by the regional welfare agency covered 2009, the year the program was implemented in the region up to the month of August, this year.

Foremost in the reason for de-listing was that the beneficiaries do not anymore have children below 14 years old; while others have been delisted for non-compliance of the requirements imposed to remain within the program.

Dir. Diokno disclosed that while the program has gained an impact in the aspect of poor families sending their children to school there were some families who were not complying with the conditions which caused their being stricken off from the list of beneficiaries.

Gov. Petilla has earlier urged the DSWD to revalidate their list of indigent recipients as common complaints reaching his office or during his regular barangay visits are that some of them have a steady source of income, some have regular jobs while some are even serving as barangay officials.

“The government is spending a lot for 4Ps thus we would like to make sure that the recipients of the cash grants are really those indigent ones and deserve to be placed under such social pension,” Gov. Petilla said.

4Ps is under the auspices of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) where qualified beneficiaries are families who need to comply with conditions set by the welfare department otherwise non-compliance will result to de-listing of the program’s beneficiaries.