TAWI-TAWI – Legitimate beneficiaries of the government’s poverty alleviation program called Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps here have complained that “fake” beneficiaries are allegedly receiving payout and that many of them were not actually poor.
One villager in Bongao town alleged that many 4Ps beneficiaries there are not even entitled to receive such benefits and has asked the government to investigate the scam.
“Bakit po ba dito sa aming sa Tawi-Tawi ay marami pa rin po until now ang naging beneficiaries ng 4Ps na hindi naman karapat-dapat tulad ng mga dalaga na wala pang anak, at mga may-asawa na wala rin anak, at hindi naman gaanong naghihirap dahil may tindahan, lupa o boarding house silang pinarerentahan buwan-buwan lalo na po dito sa Barangay Lamion sa Poblacion at ilang mga barangay? Please help the deserving poor people of Tawi-Tawi para sila naman ang mabiyayaan ng 4Ps,” the villager said in a complaint sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
One complainant also claimed that many beneficiaries have not received their conditional cash grants for more than a year now. In Maguindanao province, a woman also complained that their village leaders were allegedly pocketing the conditional cash grants intended for the poor beneficiaries of the program.
“Kung mag payout po sa 4Ps please bantayan ninyo mga Kapitan and mga lider kasi kinukuha niya yun mga pera ng mga mahihirap imbes na matulungan sila ay mga Kapitan ang nakikinabang po,” she said, naming 2 towns there.
Tawi-Tawi and Maguindanao are two of 5 provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or ARMM.
The DSWD-ARMM said it is strengthening the current drive against irregularities allegedly involving local government units in the implementation of the program.
Executive Secretary Laisa Masuhud Alamia, who is also concurrent DSWD-ARMM Secretary, said they already launched a series of activities related to this objective aimed at taking significant steps in addressing 4Ps-related problems.
The DSWD-ARMM has conducted the “LGU Assembly on Social Welfare Protection” which outlines its seriousness in imposing the program’s rules and regulations in order to prevent anomalous acts during 4Ps payout. A “Watch and Awareness Program” was similarly launched to allow concerned citizens to be active in the fight against corruption.
The plan covers the activation of DSWD-ARMM Hotlines to where citizens can call or send issues and concerns, according to Alamia.
The 4Ps provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor, to improve the health, nutrition, and the education of children aged 0-18. It was patterned after the conditional cash transfer scheme implemented in other developing countries provided that they comply with the set of conditions required by the program.
A household or beneficiary is entitled to receive P500 per month as health grant. A maximum of 3 children per household is covered by the program. Every monitored child in elementary receives P300 as education grant and in high school, receives P500 per month for 10 months as education grant.
The program also provide P600 a month or P7,200 per year rice subsidy for each family. And P200 a month for 2018, and another P300 a month from 2019 up to 2020 to help the poor cushion the adverse economic effect of new taxes. As of July this year, the numbers of active beneficiaries are more than 4.2 million in 41,620 villages and 1,483 municipalities in the country, according to latest DSWD data. (Mindanao Examiner)
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