ILOILO City – “That is a big lie,” declared Atty. Carmelo Nochete, regional director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Western Visayas, addressing rumors that politicians can delist beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) if they won’t support certain candidates in the upcoming May 2025 midterm elections.
The DSWD Region 6 official emphasized that only the department has the authority to remove individuals from the 4Ps program, and only for legitimate reasons such as non-compliance with program conditions, significant improvements in beneficiaries’ financial status, or misdemeanors.
The 4Ps is a conditional cash transfer program aimed at reducing poverty by promoting health, education, and social welfare among impoverished families.
To break the cycle of poverty, it invests in human capital by helping families meet their basic needs while encouraging them to fulfill specific health and educational requirements.
“Only DSWD can remove a 4Ps beneficiary from the list and only for valid reasons,” Nochete clarified.
The clarification was issued following reports about alleged threats to 4Ps beneficiaries that they could be removed from the program if they failed to back particular political candidates.
Nochete firmly dismissed these claims, assuring that political affiliations or choices would not affect their eligibility for the program.
“We urge 4Ps beneficiaries to never believe politicians who threaten them of being delisted. That is a big lie. Political affiliation and political choices cannot remove a 4Ps beneficiary from the program,” he reiterated.
He further reassured all 4Ps beneficiaries that they could freely exercise their right to vote in the next year’s elections without fear of losing government-provided benefits.
“All 4Ps beneficiaries, as well as the rest of our beneficiaries, can surely exercise their right of suffrage next year without fear that they will be deprived of benefits from the government,” he stressed.
To receive 4Ps’ cash grants, households must comply with the following specific conditions:
* Pregnant women must avail themselves pre- and post-natal care, and be attended during childbirth by a trained professional.
* Parents or guardians must attend Family Development Sessions, which include topics on responsible parenting, health, and nutrition.
* Children aged 0-5 years old must receive regular preventive health check-ups and vaccines.
* Children aged 6-14 years old must receive deworming pills twice a year.
* Children-beneficiaries aged 3-18 years old must enroll in school, and maintain an attendance of at least 85% of class days every month.
As of this year, 361,756 families are 4Ps beneficiaries in Western Visayas distributed as follows:
* 30,158 families in Aklan
* 28,770 families in Antique
* 37,262 families in Capiz
* 8,788 families in Guimaras
* 97,248 families in Iloilo
* 11,571 families in Iloilo City
* 138,722 families in Negros Occidental
* 11,275 families in Bacolod City/PN
