MORE than P1.5 billion worth of dole under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program did not reach the poor households this year, the camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay said Tuesday.
“Last year, the national government transferred P15.323 billion to the Land Bank of the Philippines for the over-the-counter payment of cash stipends to qualified families in eight regions,” Binay spokesman Joey Salgado said.
“However, CoA said only P13.725 billion was used.”
Salgado said P1.598 billion did not reach the poor households as intended.
“The help is not going to our poor countrymen on time or not at all based on a Commission on Audit report for 2014,” Salgado said.
“The Department of Social Welfare and Development has not solved the problems in the system.”
The Pantawid Program was allocated P62.6 billion in 2014 and P62.3 billion this year.
Salgado said Binay vowed to improve the system of granting aid to the poor Filipinos through the Pantawid to prevent several instances of non-payment and underpayment to the beneficiaries.
He said the delay was “inexcusable” especially after it was reported that a man stabbed himself in the chest while waiting for financial aid in Zamboanga del Norte on Sept. 24.
“If the government is indeed providing help to the Filipinos, if our economy is indeed growing and opening job opportunities for our countrymen, if help is indeed going to the intended beneficiaries, we would not have a fellow Filipino losing hope and attempting to kill himself out of frustration and hopelessness,” Salgado said.
“The system has to be reviewed to ensure all who need help will get the assistance they deserve from their government. That is what the vice president wants to do.”
Salgado said that, years into the implementation of the Pantawid Program, Social Welfare had yet to correct the problems in the system.
In its 2014 Consolidated Audit Report on the Official Development Assistance Programs and Projects released on Sept. 4, the commission noted “recurring deficiencies” such as inaccuracies in the list of beneficiaries, distribution gridlocks, non-receipt or underpayments, non-compliance with requirements, and verification issues.
The commission said the implementation of the program should be monitored continuously and improved to “ensure efficient fund utilization and timely delivery of assistance to various beneficiaries.”
The commission also reported 1,872 cases of double entries, uncollected fees by 6,687 beneficiaries, and 7,613 complaints of lack of payment or underpayment even though the beneficiaries had compliance certificates. Vito Barcelo