Quezon Rep. Reynan Arrogancia on Sunday welcomed the delisting of 800,000 beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) from the database of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
“In the 2023 GAA, P102.6 billion is the budget for 4Ps. Initially, as a Member of the House committee on social services, I welcome the news about the delisting of hundreds of thousands of people from the lists of 4Ps beneficiaries because it is hoped that the public funds will go to the qualified beneficiaries,” he said.
“Now that the 4Ps database has been purged of disqualified and no longer qualified people, we have some level of assurance that the part of P102.6 billion for 800,000 delisted will benefit 800,000 replacements to be added to the list,” Arrogancia added.
The DSWD earlier said in the budget hearings that people who would be delisted shall be replaced by people on the waiting list for inclusion into the 4Ps.
“In accordance with the oversight functions of Congress, I ask the DSWD to give Congress the courtesy of a detailed report on the delisting of about 800,000 people from the 4Ps database of beneficiaries. The DSWD report should indicate the reasons for the delisting and the methods used that led to the delisting,” he said.
“We also want to be assured and be sure that the waiting list has also been purged of people who also do not qualify for the 4Ps. The same level of scrutiny that was used to delist should also be the same level of scrutiny applied to the replacements,” the QC solon added.
Those who were delisted on grounds of “improved quality of life” should be backed by numbers and evidence based on the rationale of the law – health, nutrition and education, he said.