IN two separate resolutions, re-electionist Senator Leila M. de Lima urged the Congress to investigate the reported lapses of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in implementing Republic Act No. 11310, or the “Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Institutionalization Act,” and various social amelioration programs (SAP) to find out if beneficiaries are being deprived of assistance and ensure that its services are not compromised.
In filing Senate Resolution (SR) No. 1000, De Lima, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, said it is in the public interest that the Senate look into the reported lapses in the implementation of the 4Ps Act to prevent the same from occurring again, as well as to explore possible revisions to the law that would improve implementation of the program.
“Information recently gathered from some beneficiaries indicate that there were possible lapses in the implementation of the Program, including, but not limited to, delayed monthly financial benefits as well as reduction in the amounts received in many areas covered by the Program nationwide,” she said.
“Such lapses, if true, should be viewed with grave concern since these could result in noncompliance by some household-beneficiaries with the conditions for entitlement as provided for in Sections 11 and 12, respectively, of the Program,” she added.
RA 11310 provides conditional cash grants to qualified indigent families for a maximum of seven years, to improve their health, nutrition, and the education of their children aged 0-18.
De Lima, known as “Ina ng 4Ps” for being the author and principal sponsor of the 4Ps Law, with the assistance of Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV as her Vice Chairman in the Senate Committee on Social Justice, likewise underscored the need to further educate the public on the 4Ps Act through an intensive information campaign by the DSWD and other concerned agencies.
She said such move will help “allay public fears, dispel false rumors, and ensure that this landmark legislation is rendered immune from the proliferation of fake news.”
