Gonzales, Y.V. [2016 October 5). Taguiwalo: 4Ps not anti-poverty, just stop-gap.

Accessed April 10, 2018 from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/821983/taguiwalo-4ps-

not-anti-poverty-just-stop-gap

Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo on Tuesday said her department may seek a
smaller budget in the coming years as they were studying whether or not to continue
the previous administration�s conditional cash transfer program, which she said was
not an anti-poverty measure but a mere �stop-gap� solution.

In an INQ&A interview, Taguiwalo said the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program

(4Ps), a flagship initiative of the Aquino administration, was a reflection of the
�inadequacies of social services in the community� that should not be
institutionalized.

�I�m not saying that it is bad. But I think most people would like to see our poor
not just accepting financial assistance. And I think even poor beneficiaries we
talked with, they said they want jobs rather than right now just depending on the
government, and that�s the direction we want to take,� Taguiwalo said.

�It�s not an anti-poverty program. This is not the solution to poverty. It�s a
stop-gap program� How can that solve poverty? It�s like providing relief to poor
families� Even the data would reveal that poverty was not reduced. You have
individual families who have succeeded and we�re happy for that, but that�s not
true for 4.4 million families,� she added.

The program provides cash grants to some 4.4 million beneficiary households on the
condition that they comply with requirements such as regular health checkups for
pregnant women and children, and enrollment of children from daycare through high
school. Beneficiaries are also required to attend family development sessions and
must train to operate their preferred livelihood projects.

Taguiwalo said she wanted poor families to be able to tell themselves that they
worked their way out of poverty through their own skills and community efforts and
not by merely relying on government dole-outs.

This, she said, can be done through job facilitation and other alternatives that
the department was studying in coordination with other key government agencies and
a proper economic direction.

Asked if the 4Ps was at the risk of not being continued under her watch, Taguiwalo
said she could not drop it just yet, at least for another three years, due to an
existing agreement with the World Bank and the number of families still depending
on the program, which was pegged at 4.4 million.

So I think I need a deeper study of the 4Ps and other alternatives, but definitely
I�m against institutionalizing the 4Ps� We want that at the end of the day, when
they have transitioned or improved their lives, they can say to themselves that �we
did it and we did it ourselves,�� Taguiwalo said.

�Mayroon kaming ibang programa na tumutulong sa mga taong magkaroon ng trabaho,

skills (We have other programs to help people gain livelihood)� But at the end of
the day, it�s not enough for us to have this kind of programs. It�s a question of
what kind of economic direction would you like to pursue. Poverty in the rural
areas is pervasive probably because the farmers don�t have land. I hope we take
into consideration the fact that accessible social services like education and
housing should be given priority,� she added.

Taguiwalo said the DSWD was also validating reports that some families have already
reached the poverty threshold and can be considered as �non-poor but still near-
poor,� adding that the department would still have programs for them.

The DSWD earlier said that aside from cash, 4Ps beneficiaries would receive rice
subsidies starting next year as part of an improved conditional cash transfer under
the new administration.

Requioma, R. [July 5, 2013). 4Ps� higher budget no solution. Accessed April 10,
2018 from https://opinion.inquirer.net/55933/4ps-higher-budget-no-solution

This is a reaction to the banner story titled �28M to receive government dole�
(Front Page, Inquirer, 6/25/13).

Salinlahi Alliance for Children�s Concerns assails the proposal to increase

government spending for its poverty alleviation program, the Pantawid Pamilyang
Pilipino Program (4Ps), a program meant to project a picture of an improving
situation for Filipino children and their families.

From the very beginning, we have opposed this �band-aid� antipoverty program of the
Aquino administration. The program does not actually solve poverty; it merely
creates an illusion of poverty being solved. In fact, the program has been plagued
with numerous controversies�from the manner its beneficiaries are selected, to the
delayed payout of monthly subsidies, to the alleged corruption of the agencies
handling it.

A 2012 nationwide research conducted by Salinlahi and other child rights groups,
which looked into the impacts of the 4Ps on children beneficiaries, showed the
program to be futile in meeting even its immediate objective of increasing school
participation rate and better health condition for children.

Many of the beneficiaries, especially those in rural areas, have high absence
rates; and many of them have even dropped out of school to work and help provide
for their families� sustenance needs and everyday financial requirements for
schooling. On health checkups alone, poor families already face financial
constraints, more so when serious illness strikes a family member, due to high
hospital expenses�that is, if a hospital is available in their location.

According to research findings, children beneficiaries have the same sentiment: The
4Ps hasn�t really brought significant change to their families. As its name
implies, it is �pantawid lamang� but what the children need and want is a more
lasting solution to their families� woes.

For us, establishing national industries to provide jobs for the unemployed and
making education and health services universal by increasing government subsidy
(instead of partnering with private sectors to deliver them) are foolproof, long-
term solutions far better than the 4Ps. And the Filipino people would rather have
them than depend solely on government doles.

We believe that the 4Ps is just being used by the Aquino administration to cushion
the effects of neoliberal policies, such as the privatization of social services
through his public-private partnership scheme and the deregulation and
liberalization of the national economy, which directly affect the most marginalized
sectors. As long as these government policies are in place, poverty in our society
will persist.

The 4Ps is only being used to cover up the socioeconomic imbalance in our society,
which is the very reason why more and more Filipino children and their families are
stuck in and are sinking deeper into the quagmire of poverty.

Simeon, L.M. [2018 May 25). DA wants 4Ps changed into livelihood program. Accessed
April 10, 2018 from https://www.philstar.com/business/2018/05/25/1818297/da-wants-
4ps-changed-livelihood-program

MANILA, Philippines � The Department of Agriculture (DA) wants to change the

conditional cash transfer (CCT) scheme of the government into a livelihood program
instead of giving monthly dole-outs to help contribute to farm productivity in the
country.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pi�ol plans to submit a proposal to President

Duterte that will alter rules and mechanisms of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino
Program (4Ps), which was started during the previous administration and has a
budget of about P70 billion.

�Instead of giving it out in the forms of dole-out every month, why don�t we start
a livelihood program using that money so that the 4Ps beneficiaries would be
contributors to agriculture production instead of them not being able to
participate right now,� Pi�ol told reporters on the sidelines of the first
Agriculture Trade and Investment Forum yesterday.
�This is the complaint in most provinces, there are no more workers since the
people are just waiting for their allowance from the government. It is being
implemented for how many years now but there are no changes, we even lost workforce
in the agri sector because they no longer want to work,� he added.

Patterned from Latin American and African countries, the 4Ps is a human development
measure that provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor, to
improve the health, nutrition, and the education of children aged 0-18.

It operates in all the 17 regions in the country covering 79 provinces, 143 cities
and 1,484 municipalities.

Pi�ol said the DA would submit a formal proposal through a memorandum in the next
Cabinet meeting scheduled next month.

�The gist is that we should make use of the 4Ps fund for livelihood activities to
increase greater food productivity. As to the livelihood, it will be the choice of
the beneficiary whether they want vegetable growing or backyard poultry raising
among others,� Pi�ol said.

�This will also return the dignity of our people instead of them lining up in front
of ATMs just to get their money,� he added.
While the 4Ps is currently being implemented by the Department of Social Welfare
and Development, Pi�ol said the DA is willing to help the agency handle the
program.

�We are not taking it away from them. We just want it to contribute to greater
agriculture productivity instead of giving this money as dole-out. The P70 billion
from the government is just being put to waste,� Pi�ol said.

Rivas, R. [2018 May 28). Pi�ol open to debate over abolishing 4Ps program Accessed
April 10 Pi�ol open to debate over abolishing 4Ps program. Accessed April 10, 2018
from https://www.rappler.com/nation/203564-emmanuel-pinol-open-debate-4ps-program-
conditional-cash-transfer

MANILA, Philippines� Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pi�ol said he is open to a

debate over his proposal to scrap the government�s P70 billion Pantawid Pamilyang
Pilipino Program (4Ps) and have the funds diverted to livelihood programs.

In a Facebook post, the agriculture chief said that he received an invitation from
a law school dean to argue his point against Akbayan party-list representative Tom
Villarin.

Pi�ol said that the funds should be allocated to productivity in small scale
economic activities.

He also stressed that the program was used for political purposes �especially
during the last Presidential elections when the candidates of the administration
really focused on the 4Ps program as proof of its care for the poor.�

He clarified that the funds should still go to 4Ps beneficiaries for livelihood
projects �instead of just giving out the cash assistance with very little
supervision from government.�

Pi�ol also proposed that there should be a �timetable on how long a family would
receive livelihood assistance from government.� He said that �it seems like
families who are listed under the program could receive the benefits forever.�

However, he recognized the cost of politicians sharing the same view as his,
comparing it �like a tiger which will devour the political leader the moment he
gets off it."

�I call a Spade a Spade and I will always stand up and speak up for what I believe
is right even if it would cost me political brownie points,� Pi�ol said.

Despite his criticism for the 4Ps program, he said that he is not for the total
abolition of the program. He said that he wanted the same amount of funds to be
used for livelihood programs.

Villarin accepted the challenge and called Pi�ol "a very cocky department
secretary."

Villarin stressed that the program encourages household heads, spouses, and other
adults to work, have been more optimistic about their situation, reduced
malnutrition and drastically decreased alcoholism.

Jerusalem, J. [2014 September 8). Plan to scrap 4Ps hinders progress, development.
Accessed April 10 2018 from https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/365714

THE proposal by the minority bloc of the House of Representatives to abolish the
Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), also known as conditional cash transfer
(CCT), the poverty-reduction initiative of the government, would be
counterproductive to achieving progress and development in the country.

Oliver Inodeo, CCT information officer of the Department of Social Welfare and
Development in region 10 (DSWD-10), said that if the CCT will be scrapped, it would
greatly affect the lives of the more than four million families who are the
beneficiaries of the program, especially the youth.

Essentially, Inodeo said the program is a �human capital investment aimed at

ensuring that the youth (those below 18 years old) can finish secondary school and
attain optimum health condition.�

If a legislation is passed that would lead to the scrapping of the CCT, Inodeo said
it would be tantamount to killing the future of the poor students whose studies are
sustained due to the monthly cash assistance they are receiving.

�If you abolish the 4Ps, sama ra nga gipatay nimo ang kaugmaon sa atong kabataan,
labi na ang mga kabus (it�s just like killing the future of our youth, especially
the poor),� he said.

In Northern Mindanao, there are more than 260,000 family-beneficiaries, and in more
than five years since the CCT has been implemented, it has been helping the poor
families.

One of those enjoying the benefits of this program is Elsa Sabellina, a resident of
Barangay Macabalan, and a mother of seven children.

Sabellina said she is a full-time mother and only her husband is working as a truck
helper.

Of her seven kids, she said only two are beneficiaries, since the third beneficiary
is now in college. Her family is receiving P1,000 per month for her two children.

She said even if her eldest child is no longer a CCT recipient, still Sabellina
received P3,000 in cash to help her college student buy school supplies and other
needs.

Sabellina said that through the CCT program, she was given a capital to start her
own hog-raising business, adding about P5,000 to her family�s income every three
months when the hogs are matured enough to be sold.

Inodeo said the CCT beneficiaries are given livelihood, �so they can feel they are
part of the inclusive growth, and that it is not just lip service of the
government.�

As a 4Ps parent-leader in Macabalan, she is handling 20 family-beneficiaries, and

she has to make sure that her members attend the meetings and other activities of
the DSWD, the lead agency in the implementation of the program.

One of those activities, Inodeo said, is the family development session (FDS),
where the members are required to attend.

�These sessions are what make our CCT different from other countries. Whereas, in
other countries it�s more of a dole-out, the beneficiaries here have to follow the
conditions like attending our activities before they can avail of the cash grants,�
he added.

According to the DSWD, some of these conditions before the beneficiaries are given
the cash grants include: pregnant women must avail pre- and post-natal care and be
attended during childbirth by a trained health professional; attendance in the FDS;
0- to 5-year-old children must receive regular preventive health check-ups and
vaccines; six to 14-year-old children must receive deworming pills twice a year.

Also, all child-beneficiaries (0-18 years old) must enroll in school and maintain a
class attendance of at least 85 percent per month.

Inodeo said the DSWD may be the lead implementing agency but other government
offices are helping, as well, like the Department of Education, Department of
Health, National Anti-poverty Commission, Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (Tesda), and local government units.

He said in Barangay Macasandig, some out-of-school-youth who are CCT beneficiaries

have availed of technical skills, earning them the National Certification II, and
are now working overseas.

Launched in 2008, the CCT program gives conditional cash grants to indigent
families who have kids ages 14 years old and below. A P500 month cash grant is
given for health and nutrition expenses, while P300 is given monthly per child for
educational expenses.

As of June 25, 2014, the program has 4.1 million registered households located in
79 provinces covering 1,484 municipalities and 143 cities in all 17 regions
nationwide.

A recent news report said President Benigno Simeon Aquino III is targeting to reach
five million CCT family-beneficiaries for 2015.

CORRUPTION
https://www.panaynews.net/is-the-4ps-system-rigged/

CONSIDER these worrisome findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) on the Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the government:

* P10.746 billion (unliquidated balance of fund transfers to the Land Bank

(liquidation must be within five working days after each payout)
* P5.385 billion in unclaimed cash grants for over-the-counter payment (2013 to
2017)

* P1.323 billion in account balances not withdrawn

* P1.2 billion in 1.89 million accounts with outstanding balances

Where are the beneficiaries that are supposed to receive these funds? We can�t help
but wonder if these findings indicate corruption, rigging or padding of the 4Ps
system.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) must urgently comply with
the guidance of COA to remit to the National Treasury those unwithdrawn 4Ps funds.
These must be returned to the Treasury so they do not get spent on purposes they
were not budgeted for or withdrawn by people who should not receive these funds.

The COA audit finding means the DSWD 4Ps database must be cleaned up. No doubt
about it. Despite many years of implementation, the 4Ps database of beneficiaries
must be continually audited to weed out ghost beneficiaries and beneficiaries the
DSWD has lost track of, may have relocated residence, or are no longer qualified to
receive the cash grants but are still in the system because of processing time
lags.

It is probable that a number of the intended beneficiaries the P15 billion was
meant for are ghost beneficiaries and could be the handiwork of a syndicate that
has access to DSWD�s 4Ps systems and procedures. It is possible that people posing
as the ghost beneficiaries were unable to withdraw the cash for some reason or
another.

DSWD secretary Virginia Orogo must investigate this and uproot any and all in her
department who may be cohorts in attempting to defraud the government of 4Ps funds
or who did not perform their required tasks to make sure the 4Ps database has
integrity and the system works as it should.

The P15 billion unwithdrawn or even a significant chunk of that, if found to be

part of a systematic scheme to try to siphon away government funds, would be
plunder. Every person, whether DSWD or outside of DSWD, who is part of any scheme
to steal the 4Ps funds must be dealt with to the fullest extent of our criminal and
civil laws.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1027027

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao -- A ranking official of the Department of Social Welfare

and Development in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DSWD-ARMM) has warned
local executives involved in irregularities in the distribution of cash assistance
to indigents in this province that the law will definitely run after them.

Speaking during the 4th round of Local Government Unit Assembly on Social Welfare
Protection that focused on the implementation of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino
Program (4Ps) for the province of Maguindanao on Wednesday, DSWD-ARMM Secretary
Laisa Alamia said the local government officials from mayors down to barangays,
including workers of DSWD, should not benefit from the 4Ps program.
The assembly was called a month after Alamia found out that some elected officials,
mayors included, were involved in getting �cuts� out of the government fund
assistance to indigent residents of ARMM in the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del
Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

�Cuts� refer to corruption where local officials are receiving part of the fund
assistance intended for the poor.

The Army�s 6th Infantry Division hosted the gathering because the military will
help monitor distribution of funds as well as monitor the performance of elected
local officials.

Alamia, a lawyer, discussed the objectives of convening all local government unit
(LGU) officials and other stakeholders involved in the implementation of 4Ps.

�It has been found out that DSWD-ARMM that Maguindanao has received the highest
number of complaints involving the 4Ps anomalies before our office on the barangay
level,� Alamia said.

She presented the �no fraud� policy implemented by DSWD national, the importance of
4Ps and the �do�s and don�ts,� stressing repeatedly on stopping corruption.

The LGU officials and other stakeholders, meanwhile, lauded Alamia for her firm
stand in eradicating irregularities in 4Ps� implementation.

She said officials who would be caught involved in fraudulent activities, during
and after the payouts to the beneficiaries, would be ousted from their respective
posts and could even face criminal charges with the assistance of law enforcement
authorities.

To reinforce this, the agency has already started coordinating with Smart
Telecommunications Co. to setup the Infocast Messaging System.

The system, once operational, will enable 4Ps beneficiaries and others to send
their concerns to DSWD-ARMM regarding 4Ps.

DSWD-ARMM is also coordinating with other agencies such as the National Bureau of
Investigation, the Commission on Elections, the Philippine National Police, and the
Armed Forces of the Philippines in counterchecking and evaluating the list of 4Ps
members. Aside from LGU officials, regional officials of Department of Education
and Health were also presented for they form part of the task force.

�We thought of the LGU assembly as the best way to talk and appeal to you. This
serves as a warning. Magtulungan po tayo na ayusin ang problema na ito (Let us help
each other in resolving this problem),� Alamia said.

DSWD-ARMM has also coordinated with the Darul Ifta, the local Islamic consultative
body, to provide religious guidance on the program�s implementation.

Alamia said that helping the needy in the community is not just a responsibility as
public servants but also as Muslims. The military would be involved in the
monitoring in accordance with Mindanao Martial Law Instruction Order No. 01 to
monitor and check LGUs to ensure projects and programs of the government are
properly implemented and delivered.

Alamia also warned her fellow workers in the DSWD-ARMM that those found guilty of
corruption involving the 4Ps implementation will be dealt with accordingly.
(PNA/Photo by BPI-ARMM)
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/967348/in-armm-money-for-poor-goes-to-execs-pockets
JOLO, SULU�An official of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has
uncovered a scheme in which barangay and town officials in the five provinces in
the region have been pocketing the money intended for the beneficiaries of the
government�s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

Lawyer Laisa Alamia, newly installed social welfare and development secretary of
the
ARMM, said her office had been swarmed with complaints, coursed through a
government hotline and from beneficiaries themselves, about some officials and
government employees in the region collecting the money that 4Ps beneficiaries were
supposed to receive.

ATM withdrawal

�Imagine, a mother was supposed to get P1,400 cash from 4Ps, but some unscrupulous
government employees�teachers, social workers�withdraw the money from their ATM
(automated teller machine accounts) and hand over to them just P500. They pocket
the rest of the subsidy,� Alamia told the Inquirer.

She said these government employees were keeping the ATM cards of beneficiaries
after these were pawned to them.

Among the complaints that Alamia received involved some politicians forcing
beneficiaries to pawn their cards or to pay some fees before they could withdraw
their money.

Alamia said she had monitored the problem in the provinces of Maguindanao, Sulu,
Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Lanao del Sur.

�In all the five provinces of the ARMM, we get various complaints about 4Ps
benefits being taken by non-4Ps beneficiaries,� she said.

�There were also cases of beneficiaries (who are not poor and employed),� she
added.

She said some school principals also got a cut when they issued certificates of
attendance needed for the release of the 4Ps subsidy to beneficiaries.

Alamia was alarmed that some of the students that these school officials had
certified did not exist.

�We conducted actual checking of attendance in a particular school but discovered

some of the children on the list were ghost beneficiaries,� Alamia said.

�Teachers, principals, supervisors are in cahoots with the municipal (4Ps

coordinators),� she added.

Fear

She said some barangay officials also tapped relatives to collect the
beneficiaries� cash cards and withdraw money .

�So it�s what you see at ATMs, one person carrying so many ATM cards, withdrawing
money,� she said.
But most of those who fell victims of the unscrupulous practice did not file formal
complaints.

�They don�t even want to come out to identify the persons behind the irregularities
for fear that these people will get back at them, or their names will be removed
from the list of beneficiaries,� Alamia said.

But she vowed the ARMM would arrest erring officials and government employees
caught in the act during payout time.

Warning

�No arrest will happen today. But on the next payout to 4Ps beneficiaries, you will
not just be terminated from [government] service, you will also be arrested once
[we catch you committing this illegal] act,� Alamia warned Department of Social
Welfare and Development workers during Wednesday�s assembly attended by 19 mayors,
410 village chiefs and other government employees.

�In the next payout, we will be on the ground in coordination with the security
sector to protect the beneficiaries,� she said.

ARMM has 415,389 households registered with 4Ps. Maguindanao�s indigent families
(160,972 households) make up 38.75 percent of beneficiaries, followed by Sulu
(93,734), Lanao del Sur (93,051), Tawi-Tawi (36,139) and Basilan (31,439).