Courtesy: inkl
DECLARING that hunger and poverty are concerns that must be addressed with extreme urgency and consideration, the chairman of the House Committee on Poverty Alleviation successfully steered the House panel into getting an assurance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) that the 700,000 families delisted from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) will not only be reinstated but will also get paid retroactively since the period they were removed.
Chaired by 1PACMAN Partylist Rep. Michael L. Romero PhD, the congressional panel took only two meetings to unanimously agree that the DSWD must ensure the immediate release of the funds to the said families and to the rest of the 3.2 million current beneficiaries. They proposed the distribution of cash assistance during the on-going Christmas season.
Romero said they want the DSWD to deliver to the delisted families the total monthly cash assistance that accumulated since their names were scrapped.
Reports revealed that the DSWD stopped payment of the conditional cash transfer benefit as early as the start of 2023.
While 3.2 million households have consistently received their cash grants, the more than 700,000 delisted families were denied the same benefits after being evaluated by the DSWD as “non-poor”, among other reasons.
Romero is convinced that the delisted families have not yet crossed the line of indigent status and must remain in the 4Ps.
“This legislative effort is a Christmas gift we intend to give our kababayans,
We hope the DSWD makes it even more perfect by expediting distribution,” said the House official.
In reaction, the Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Pamilya ng Pantawid (SNPP), a nationwide organization of 4Ps parent leaders and beneficiaries, lauded the sincere efforts of Romero and the rest of the committee members in swiftly responding to the concerns of the poor.
During a committee meeting, DSWD representatives reported that a revalidation process has been conducted to determine whether or not the benefits of the delisted families should be restored.
The DSWD officials also agreed that upon their reinstatement, the beneficiaries must receive the total amount of benefits previously denied them.
Romero disclosed that the poverty alleviation panel also asked the DSWD to provide the cash grants of more than 300,000 household beneficiaries who are about to “graduate” from the program by the end of 2023.
“We want the DSWD to fully utilize the budget of 4Ps for 2023. We must jointly extend a helping hand to those who are in dire need of financial assistance,” he stressed.
The concern over the fate of the 700,000 delisted families was earlier raised in separate resolutions for congressional inquiry filed by Reps. Wilbert T. Lee, Teodorico T. Haresco, Jr., Arlene D. Brosas, France L. Castro and Raoul Danniel A. Manuel. A similar issue was taken up in a privilege speech delivered by Rep. Paul R. Daza.
