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4P beneficiaries in BARMM urged to slap corrupt officials benefiting from program
COTABATO CITY — An official of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has urged beneficiaries of the government's Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4P's) to confront those who are using the program for corruption.
"Puwede na nilang gawin yung sinabi ni President [Rodrigo] Duterte na sampalin nila, para meron tayong mapag-usapan, yung merong marka na puwede nating habulin at kasuhan," said BARMM Minister Naguib Sinarimbo during the launch of Kapihan sa Bangsamoro weekly conference.
Sinarimbo said BARMM's Ministry of Interior of Local Government has received reports that some local officials are taking advantage of the multi-million peso program.
"Ang reports na dumating sa amin ay yung mga officials from barangays at munisipyo ay nakikialam sa pay-out at nagkakaroon ng linkages with the municipal links, parent leaders at officials sa baba," he said.
He said they are now validating the reports through investigation, even as he expressed doubt that such scheme could prosper under the present BARMM administration.
A viral video a few years ago showed a barangay chairman in Lanao del Sur getting cuts from the beneficiaries.
The Department of Social Welfare Development has advised last year to stop the pay-outs after it discovered some irregularities, including a bloated data of enrolled beneficiaries.
This was followed by massive validation, the use biometric system and actual house to house enumeration of every member beneficiaries.
Today, a new cleansed list is being used by the MSWD here. In Malabang town, for example, the number of beneficiaries went down from 3,900 to 3,848 after the list was cleansed. This meant 52 were removed from the list, allowing the government to save some P365,000.
Malabang Mayor Mohamad Macapodi has expressed his disgust to some DSWD enumerators who are conducting validation from other village instead of actual validation in a community where they are supposed to get their accurate data.
"Need natin yung enumerators’ ay pumunta talaga sa bahay [ng beneficiary] dahil doon malalaman ang estado sa buhay, di lang basta interview kundi titingnan talaga ang saan sila nakatira at ano ang kalagayan nila," said Lawyer Raisa Jajurie, the head of BARMM-Social Services and Welfare Ministry.
Her office has sought the assistance of the MILG to work with local officials in the ground to implement correctly and properly the program.
In response, MILG issued Memorandum Order No. 25 which bars officials from directly or indirectly interfering in the process or from using the program for their political advantage. —KBK/RSJ, GMA News
