The Secretary provided updates and answered questions on the following programs and issues: P1B free medicines or Libreng Gamot para sa Masa (LINGAP); Rice Subsidy for Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries; provision of food assistance to the Kadamay members and other relocatees in Pandi, Bulacan; status of distribution of P5,000 Cash Assistance for Typhoon Yolanda survivors; preparations for the “BIG” one or possible earthquake; and assistance to Sabah Deportees; and, Kamustahan campaign with Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo today said that all units of the DSWD will implement an on-the-spot validation measure to address various issues affecting the delivery of services to the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program. Among the most noted problem concerns of beneficiaries is pawning their cash cards. In Metro Manila, the DSWD National Capital Region (NCR) has received many reports regarding the same.
Earlier this week, DSWD-NCR did its “Kamustahan Cash Card” campaign wherein Pantawid city links (case managers) and Grievance Officers assigned to particular areas validate reports on cash card pawning and raise awareness on the possible sanctions that Pantawid beneficiaries may face if they are found to have pawned their cards.
If proven guilty, they will be served written warnings; the case managers will also give a refresher course on the program guidelines with focus on sanctions when beneficiaries violate the conditionalities of the program.
Currently, the Department has already conducted the validation activity in the cities of Caloocan and Valenzuela wherein 15 out of 61 households were found guilty of pawning their Pantawid cash cards.
DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo said that the Kamustahan Cash Card strategy should be applied in other areas covered by the Pantawid Pamilya program.
“We have been conducting the Kamustahan since the beginning of 2017 to determine the status of the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Program. This offshoot strategy Kamustahan Cash Card will focus on the issue on cash card pawning because we want to arrest the increasing number of incidents of the same,” she said.
“The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, as a social protection program, mainly invests in the health and education of poor Filipino children and their families. We intend for the cash grants provided to beneficiaries to be used for these purposes. We understand the extent of the poverty of many Filipinos even among those who are members of the Pantawid program, and it’s easy to determine the reasons why some of them would pawn their cash cards. The actual cash released by the program on a monthly basis is far from enough to cover all the basic needs of the beneficiaries or any ordinary poor family for that matter, so pawning the card in exchange for immediate money is an emergency step many beneficiaries resort to. The problem is, when they pawn the cards, they run the risk of having their benefits suspended,” said Sec. Taguiwalo.
“We implement progressive disciplining measures among the program beneficiaries, and those found guilty of the repeated infractions, we resort to delisting.
As of February 2017, some 243,420 households have been delisted nationwide. In NCR, as of March 10, a total of 7,798 households have been delisted.
Delisting is done through a grievance process. If the reason is due to misbehavior of beneficiaries (pawning of cash cards, misuse of grants) and repeated noncompliance in all conditionalities, progressive disciplining is taken until the fourth offense. Thereafter, the household is removed.
“We would like to state that we do not tolerate such behavior from our Pantawid beneficiaries and that the Department is doing the best to help our beneficiaries understand the repercussions,” she added. “There are so many impoverished Filipinos who want to be members of the Pantawid Program but did not get enlisted. We hope that those who are members will maximize the benefits of the programs and not risk losing their membership.”
At present, some 196,104 households out of the 227,373 Pantawid Pamilya households in Metro Manila are receiving their cash grants through their cash cards while the remaining households are still processing their cash card enrollment. ###
