Soliman warns people of taking credits on 4Ps

CEBU, Philippines – Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon “Dingky” Soliman had issued a stern warning against persons, including politicians, who had reportedly been taking advantage of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) by announcing to the people that they owned or initiated it.

Soliman, during her visit to Dumaguete City this week, was told that a politician in Negros Oriental had warned existing beneficiaries of 4Ps that their names will be removed from the list if he will not win in the coming elections.

Nobody, not even the president, can remove a 4Ps beneficiary from the list, but the concerned beneficiary himself or herself for failure to comply with the conditions set by government, she said.

Soliman reminded 4Ps beneficiaries not to vote for politicians who spread lies about the program. “Only the beneficiary can cause the delisting of his or her membership with the conditional cash transfer program and nobody else.”

The DSWD secretary’s warning came after she received reports that some local government units in Negros Oriental have allegedly required 4Ps beneficiaries to attend political meetings and gatherings, otherwise their failure would mean they have to pay a certain amount to the LGU.

Soliman, in the presence of Governor Roel Degamo, issued a verbal directive to DSWD-Negros Island Region Director Shalyn Marie Sun Lucero to validate the information and report this as soon as possible.

The secretary attended the opening of a three-day national assessment of programs and projects in Dumaguete last year, including DSWD planning sessions for this year.

Included in the discussion was the transition period at DSWD-NIR in June this year when a new president assumes office. Policies have to be strengthened aside from the social pension and supplementary feeding program, among others, Soliman said.

The conditional cash transfer, a livelihood component of 4Ps in Dumaguete has been implemented since 2013, she said, in response to recommendations by Senator Allan Peter Cayetano for an allocation of P1 billion each of the 18 regions in the country.

DSWD records showed that, of the more than 4.5 million 4Ps beneficiaries, more than 390,000 had benefitted from the livelihood component, such as starting a small business and employment facilitation with total funding of P9 billion. (FREEMAN)