Mayor Kevin Anarna of Silang, Cavite issued Executive Order No. 10, Series of 2022 on Thursday, creating a task force that will help the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) in monitoring and reporting errant 4Ps beneficiaries.
“This task force will help the MSWDO in monitoring and reporting violators like those who use the money they receive from the 4Ps in financing their vices such as gambling and drinking alcohol,” Anarna said.
The Task Force Disiplina sa 4Ps (TFD-4Ps) is headed by the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer, with the Local Chief of Police and the President of the Association of Barangay Captains as members.
“This is in response to the efforts of the National Government, thru the DSWD, to clean up the list of 4Ps beneficiaries, get rid of all the violators, and free up slots for more deserving families,” the mayor explained.
TFD-4Ps is tasked with the following:
1. To oversee the compliance of 4Ps beneficiaries with the conditions of the Program;
2. To issue the guidelines for the monitoring of compliance of 4Ps beneficiaries;
3. To report the violations and make recommendations therein under the grievance redress mechanism of the Program; and
4. Other tasks that may be assigned by the Municipal Mayor.
The MSWDO will report the violations, such as pawning of cash cards, gambling, and drinking of alcohol, to the DSWD Regional Office.
Residents are also encouraged to report to the task force and the MSWDO violations of beneficiaries with accompanying evidence for validation and immediate action.
“A lot of Filipino families, including Silangueños, are waitlisted and deserve to be in the 4Ps but with limited budget, only a few make it in the final list,” said the mayor.
“As we continue with our fight against poverty, malnutrition, and lack of proper education, we have to make sure that those in the program truly deserve to be there,” Anarna added.
The 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) is a human development measure of the national government that provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor, to improve the health, nutrition, and education of children aged 0-18.
It is patterned after the conditional cash transfer (CCT) schemes in Latin American and African countries, which have lifted millions of people around the world from poverty.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development recently said it has purged the national list of 1.3 million 4Ps beneficiaries who are no longer considered poor, saving the government P15 billion.