Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo is weighing up a P1,000 cash reward for those who will give information on “undeserving” families in the list of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries.
He said Monday if the tip-off would be found valid, then the rewards might be given once the agency has finished the “cleansing” process, which he said was continuing, stressing the number of families delisted could reach 2 million.
Tulfo said the department had been receiving complaints on their hotline, but upon validation, the information was found to be untrue.
In an interview last week on CNN Philippines, Tulfo said the DSWD was cleansing the 4Ps list so that other poor Filipinos could benefit from the cash grant.
“[Based] on the records submitted to me by our division, the National Household Targeting System, we have identified 1.3 million families or households that are no longer considered poor,” Tulfo said in a mix of English and Filipino.
He said “graduates” of the program had shown they have the means to support themselves, or their children have graduated from school.
The DSWD is also looking at delisting 600,000 more beneficiaries who are refusing the agency’s efforts to verify their status.
“This is a conditional cash transfer. Which means there are conditions before you get this grant,” he said.
“One of the conditions is you have to inform the DSWD if you will move from one barangay to another. Another condition is, if we come to your house and ask you questions for an update, you need to let us in and answer us. Failure to do so will really result in your being delisted as a 4Ps beneficiary.”
Tulfo said there were more than 14 million households living below the poverty line, but the department does not have enough funds to support all of them.
Tulfo added they were currently digitizing the department’s records for more efficient transactions in the future.