CCT anomalies addressed by DSWD, says Malacañang

Anomalies involving the conditional cash transfer program cited in a 2010 Commission on Audit (COA) report do not reflect the succeeding implementations and improvements that have been put into the program, Malacañang said Friday.

 

“The report is, for us, outdated already,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda to reporters in a briefing at the Palace, noting that government already adjusted the program and made the necessary improvements.

 

"The recommendations have been done way before," Lacierda said. "There were reported overpayments… That has been done. There were reports of not qualified beneficiaries… They have been delisted."

 

"All the reforms have been made, all of the concerns have been addressed," he added.

 

The COA report was based on a 2010 audit, so the figures and adjustments for the years after have not been reflected in it, the Palace official noted.

 

"The audit for the year 2011 has not been performed yet," he said. "It is being done but there is no report yet."

 

The program, also called CCT, is part of the Department of Social Welfare and  evelopment’s (DSWD) Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps.

 

It supports poor families with up to P1,400 in monthly stipends on condition that they keep their children in school, let family members attend development seminars, and keep mothers up to date in terms of maternal health care.

 

Around 3,015,671 households have been enrolled in the program, according to latest DSWD data, reflecting 96.72 percent of 3,106,979 beneficiaries targeted by the Aquino administration.

 

Also, Friday, the Department of Social Welfare and Development released a statement addressing the issues brought up by the COA report.

 

“These concerns about the CCT have been raised in the past,” said Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Solomon. “Again, we would like to assure the public that the DSWD has already adopted mechanisms to improve on and ensure the smooth implementation of the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program.” 

 

The DSWD said it has “institutionalized stringent rules” cover the CCT program, and that COA accepted these efforts by the department.

 

Solomon said the DSWD Grievance Redress System (GRS) regularly addresses complaints of non-poor individuals that are benefiting from the CCT program. 

 

Already delisted were 6,157 non-poor households as of the end of June, the DSWD noted.

 

Meanwhile, the department clarified that the P6.6 billion COA cited as unliquidated funds includes P3 billion in undisbursed funds, and that only P3.6 billion were actually unliquidated at the end of 2010. 

 

P2.5 billion were already liquidated as of December 2011 of the undisbursed P3 billion, while the balance of P593 million was already remitted to the National Treasury.

 

Of the P3.6 billion unliquidated funds as of Dec. 31, 2010, more than P3 billion had been liquidated while P570 million were awaiting liquidation reports as of June 2012, according to the DSWD.

 

The P367.6 million allegedly released to 60,433 non-complying beneficiaries are now under review by the department’s Compliance Verification System (CVS) in all Pantawid Pamilya areas, which monitors households in fulfilling the obligations and responsibilities set by the program.

 

Despite improvements in the program, a lot of work still needs to be done, Lacierda however noted.

 

"Malinis na siya, but siyempre tinigitgnan pa rin ‘yan, kaya kailangan may monitoring ‘yan," he added. — VS, GMA News