ILOILO – After the distribution of rice in the provinces of Antique, Capiz and Aklan, many are asking: will Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries from Iloilo, Guimaras and Negros Occidental receive theirs?
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 6 director Atty. Carmelo Nochete said he has not yet received a communication from the Office of the President on this.
Nochete believes there is a possibility, but when specifically and who will lead the distribution is something he cannot ascertain.
“Kon sa posibilidad may ara, pero kon may plano na, waay pa,” Nochete told Panay News on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 8.
The DSWD-6 director disclosed that the Office of the President chooses the areas where the President will distribute the rice aid. DSWD’s role is only to facilitate and ensure that the 4Ps beneficiaries show up.
Like the rice aid distribution last Friday, the DSWD-6 only received instructions to prepare three sites for the Presidential visit.
“Limitado lang ang resources, and indi kita kapasiguro nga may ara pa gid, pero ti hulat-hulat lang kita,” Nochete also said.
On Oct. 6, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos Jr. led the distribution of rice to more than 3,000 4Ps beneficiaries from Capiz, Antique and Aklan. He was with DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr.
Each beneficiary received 25 kilograms of rice worth P1,050 each.
The recipients of rice are 4Ps beneficiaries whose level of well-being is either Survival (Level 1) or Subsistence (Level 2) based on the Social Welfare Development Indicator (SWDI), a case management tool used for the program.
The bags of rice were government-seized, smuggled rice worth a total of P42 million.
Around 42,180 sacks of rice were confiscated following a Bureau of Customs inspection of a warehouse in Barangay San Jose Gusu, Zamboanga City on Sept. 15.
The President also oversaw the distribution of Seed Capital Fund for various Sustainable Livelihood Program Associations in the three provinces, as well as other government aid, including:
* Department of Labor and Employment’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Worker (P6 million)
* Department of Health’s Medical Assistance for Indigent Patients (P1.5 million)
* Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s allowance for scholars (P1.19 million)
* Department of Agriculture’s KADIWA (P1.1 million)
* Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation’s insurance (P12.8 million)
* Commission on Higher Education scholarships (P5.66 million)./PN
