DSWD: Delisted 4Ps beneficiaries may reach two million

The number of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries that will be removed from the list may reach up to two million, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Thursday.

DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo noted that 1.3 million households are now tagged as “non-poor,” meaning they are no longer qualified to receive the cash assistance from the national government.

He added the status of about 600,000 more recipients are being looked at by DSWD.

“Kapag nalagay ka sa non-poor, hindi ka na kailangan diyan sa 4Ps. Graduate ka na (If you have been identified as non-poor, you are no longer under the 4Ps as you’ve already graduated),” he said in a CNN Philippines interview.

“Nakakatayo na ‘yun sa sarili nilang mga paa. They can survive day to day tapos ‘yung mga anak nila, maaaring nag-graduate na so hindi na sila papasok doon,” he added.

(They can now stand on their own two feet. They can already survive day to day and their children may have graduated.)

Tulfo reminded the beneficiaries that under the conditional cash transfer program, they are required to inform and update the DSWD if they have transferred residences and answer the questions asked by the agency.

“Failure to do so will really result na you will be delisted from our list of 4Ps beneficiaries,” he said.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. earlier directed the DSWD chief to clean the 4Ps list amid reports that some beneficiaries are not poor and are using the cash assistance in gambling.

In response, Tulfo said that “within the next few weeks” he would issue an “amnesty” call for those who are already unqualified 4Ps beneficiaries to surrender their accounts to the DSWD within 30 or 60 days or face charges.

Targeted cash transfer

Moreover, Tulfo noted that at least 12 million households are eyed to receive P500 per month or P1,000 for two months under the government’s Targeted Cash Transfer (TCT) Program.

According to DSWD, these monthly cash subsidies would be distributed for six months in three tranches and would be deposited in the existing cash cards of the beneficiaries.

For the first tranche, Tulfo said 90% of the 12.4 million households have already received their cash assistance. However, the budget for the remaining 10% is still pending at the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“I have to ask Secretary Amenah Pangandaman about this… Nagkaroon kasi tayo talaga ng problem nung tumama ang bagyong Odette. I saw ‘yung expenses na ‘yung mga funds ng iba’t ibang department ay kailangang hugutin para maitulong sa Odette victims,” he said.

(We had a problem when Typhoon Odette hit. I saw the funds of various departments had to be reallocated to help the Odette victims.)

Tulfo said he is also yet to discuss with Pangandaman if the second and third tranches of the TCT can still be provided in the next months.

The DBM announced it had released P6.2 billion to cover the P500 monthly cash aid for low-income families to ease their burdens amid the rising fuel and commodity prices.—AOL, GMA News