ILOILO City – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Western Visayas encouraged local government units to pass ordinances that prevent loan sharks from taking advantage of beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) or conditional cash transfer of the government.
May Rago, DSWD Region 6 information officer, acknowledged the “isolated” cases of 4Ps beneficiaries pawning their automated teller machine (ATM) cards or cash cards.
DSWD wants to stop this practice that is prone to abuse.
Cash assistance to 4Ps beneficiaries is released every two months. The amount per family ranges from P600 to P2,800, depending on the number of children a beneficiary has.
Based on reports, moneylenders, who earn a margin of at least P1,000 per transaction, lend their clients up to P5,000 but the payback is P6,000.
There are over 300,000 Pantawid Pamilya household-beneficiaries in Western Visayas receiving cash grants based on their compliance with the conditions of the program.
“We understand that there are extreme circumstances when recipients are pushed to pawn cash cards. That is why they are subjected to counseling,” she added.
Those caught misusing their cards are made to sign a notice of warning from the DSWD and subjected to counseling by a social worker.
They would not also receive their cash assistance for the month, but would not yet be removed from the program.
Those committing the offense for the third time would be permanently delisted.
“Many of Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries are successful with their children already becoming teachers, social workers, nurses and engineers,” said Rago.
The Filipino word “pantawid” is roughly translated as “tide over” in English. It means “to support or enable to survive temporarily” or “to help along temporarily, as through a period of difficulty.”
The 4Ps has dual objectives:
* social assistance, giving monetary support to extremely poor families to respond to their immediate needs
* social development, breaking the intergenerational poverty cycle by investing in the health and education of poor children through program.
DSWD is the lead government agency of the 4Ps.
To receive subsidies, all the succeeding conditions must be met by the household-beneficiaries:
* Pregnant women must avail pre- and post-natal care, and be attended during childbirth by a trained professional;
* Parents or guardians must attend the family development sessions, which include topics on responsible parenting, health, and nutrition;
* Children aged 0-5 must receive regular preventive health check-ups and vaccines;
* Children aged 6-14 must receive deworming pills twice a year; and * Children-beneficiaries aged 3-18 must enroll in school, and maintain an attendance of at least 85 percent of class days every month/PN
