DSWD calls for vigilance vs fake 4Ps takers

NAGA CITY -- Two days after the mid-term polls, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional office in Bicol, received reports that the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps was used by politicians in Camarines Sur to gain vote from their constituents.

The persistent report and feed backs prompted DSWD 5 regional director Arnel Garcia to issue a press statement denying the allegations, saying that there were no such activities coordinated in their office.

Barely a week after the election, Garcia reiterated his call that private individuals, organizations or any entities are not allowed to issue registration forms for the 4Ps, much more enlist them as members under the said program.

In a statement released to the media, Garcia said that if there are registration forms that continue to circulate in some municipalities, they definitely did not come from the DSWD.

Garcia emphasized that the identification of qualified beneficiaries for 4Ps is generated solely through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTSPR) and payouts are only done through the schedules and modes approved by the Department.

“For the record the DSWD is not the source of the alleged registration forms, we are not conducting community assemblies to recruit new beneficiaries for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in the Partido area or anywhere else in the region at the moment and no payouts are being conducted since March 29, 2013”, Garcia stressed.

It will be recalled that a month before the election, Garcia met with the local members of the media in Camarines Sur and launched its “Bawal ang EPAL Dito.”

This endeavors to inform the public that only DSWD has the sole authority to select new beneficiaries, delist noncompliant recipients, impose penalties for violated rules and warn political “epals” not to use the poverty allegation program to further their political interests.

“The DSWD is committed to protect the integrity of its poverty reduction programs and the safety and independence of its workers for the best interests of the poor and marginalized”, Garcia said in closing.