‘Don’t use 4Ps for political mileage’

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) yesterday cautioned anew politicians who plan to use the government’s flagship poverty alleviation project – the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) – for political mileage.

The DSWD issued the warning following reports that in some regions, beneficiaries were told that the cash grants were bonuses from politicians who have announced their plans to run in 2016.

“The DSWD always ensures that the 4Ps remains free from political influence and manipulation, and the rights of the beneficiaries are safeguarded,” Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said.

Meanwhile, the Commission on Audit (COA) has discovered another irregularity in the government.

Similar to the 4Ps, the administration also embarked in a Pantawid Kuryente: Katas ng VAT (PKKV) project in a bid to help poor Filipinos who cannot afford to pay their electricity bills.

The DSWD released the program’s total budget of P2.422 billion to various electric cooperatives from 2008 to 2010, granting a one-time subsidy of P500 to qualified beneficiaries whose monthly consumption is 100 kilowatts per month or less.

But when the COA reviewed the financial transactions of the National Electrification Administration, which helped implement the PKKV, it found irregularities in the way the money was distributed in Cebu, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Sorsogon, and Catanduanes.

Many beneficiaries of the PKKV were unqualified to receive the P500 subsidy from the government, the COA said.  – With Michael Punongbayan