DSWD launches new list of poor families including potential 4Ps beneficiaries

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Monday launched its new list of poor families in the country from which potential Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries would be selected.

DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo said not all families listed in the “Listahanan 3” or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction list would be included in the 4Ps program due to the limited budget.

“Lilinawin ko lang, yung listahan na ito, dito pipili ng mga ipapalit sa aalisin natin na 1.3 million. Pero, hindi kagyat na kukunin dito dahil ito po ay ipapasa po sa 4Ps, so may process po,” he said during the soft launch.

(I will just clarify that we will choose from this list the replacement for the 1.3 million beneficiaries that were removed from the 4Ps program. We will not include them right away because we have to submit them to 4Ps, so there is a process.)

According to Tulfo, around 1.3 million beneficiaries were removed from the program, while 600,000 more are still up for assessment.

National Household Targeting Office (NHTO) Director Andrew Ambubuyog said their office started visitations of potential beneficiaries for Listahanan 3 during the fourth quarter of 2019.

The list was finalized in December 2021.

Ambubuyog said the final results of their survey showed that 5,599,091 poor families were listed in the DSWD’s database.

“Ang naging resulta ng aming Listahanan as of December 2021 na kung saan merong 5,599,091 na mahihirap na sambahayan sa bansa ang kasalukuyang nakaatala sa database ng DSWD, Listahanan,” he said.

(The result of our Listahanan as of December 2021 showed that we have 5,599,091 poor households in the country currently listed in the DSWD’s database or Listahanan.)

Of the total number, 1,232,985 are from urban areas and 4,018,209 from rural areas.

The regions with the most potential beneficiaries are the Bicol Region with 541,000, Western Visayas with 536,000, and Bangsamoro with 509,000.

Ambubuyog said the regions with the most number of poor households without access to clean water are Bangsamoro at 58%, Cordillera at 44%, and Western Visayas at 43%.

The regions with the most number of poor families without toilet facilities are Bangsamoro at 46%, Mimaropa at 26%, and Central Visayas at 21%.

Also, Ambubuyog said the regions with the most number of poor households with power supply are Bangsamoro at 32%, Mimaropa at 31%, and Central Visayas at 30%.

Through the use of Listahanan 2, 4.2 million poor households benefited from the 4Ps program, 5.2 million from the PhilHealth indigent program, and 300,000 students from the tertiary education subsidy of the Commission on Higher Education.

Tulfo said President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. directed him to clean the list of beneficiaries amid reports that some 4Ps beneficiaries were well-off and were using the cash assistance for gambling. — DVM, GMA News