The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) asked the public to be vigilant against individuals posing as recruiters for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
The DSWD issued the statement on May 2, after receiving a report that certain individuals wearing DSWD’s red vest were said to be asking non-4Ps members to provide their birth certificates with a promise to be included in the program.
Moreover, the unscrupulous individuals were said to be issuing school certifications to 4Ps beneficiaries to lure them into giving their cash card account numbers.
The 4Ps is a poverty reduction strategy that provides grants to extremely poor households to improve their health, nutrition and education, particularly for children aged 14 and below.
The DSWD clarified that there is no ongoing registration of additional 4Ps beneficiaries, and that only those households assessed as poor in the Listahanan database are qualified to be registered as 4Ps beneficiaries.
Furthermore, it said that it did not deploy personnel to gather cash card account numbers of its beneficiaries, as these are considered confidential information.
The DSWD explained that it is not within the 4Ps’s policy to collect documents such as birth certificates during the validation of potential 4Ps beneficiaries.
It reminded the 4Ps beneficiaries and the public to transact business, concerning the program with their city or municipal link or visit the nearest DSWD field office.
The DSWD appealed to the public to report any suspicious activities involving the Department’s programs and services to the Grievance Redress System text hotline 0918-912-2813 or email [email protected].
The public may also send a message to the Official Facebook Page of 4Ps.