Lawmakers of the House minority bloc want to investigate the delisting of 1.3 million Filipinos as beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
After a validation of the 4Ps cash grants program, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) disqualified 1.3 million Filipinos as they were no longer considered “poor". This will ultimately result in P15 billion in government savings.
READ: https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/19/1-3-m-pinoys-no-longer-considered-poor-delisted-from-4ps-palace-says/
During a press conference on Wednesday, Aug. 10, Assistant Minority Leaders Gabriela Women’s Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, PS Party-list Rep. Jonathan Abalos; and Minority member AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee expressed their desire to probe the disqualicition of the 4Ps beneficiaries.
READ: https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/26/marcos-orders-dswd-to-clean-up-list-of-4ps-beneficiaries/
On the same day, Brosas filed House Resolution (HR) 200 urging the House–through its Committee on Social and Services and Committee on Poverty Alleviation–to probe the disqualification of 1.3 million Filipinos from the government's flagship poverty alleviation program.
"This 'instawid' or instant tawid scheme is highly questionable and must be investigated...We in Gabriela Party-list have always put forward our critique of the limitations of 4Ps as a failed poverty alleviation program. But in times of dire crisis, such program can serve as a lifeline to struggling Filipinos. Kaya malaking usapin ang pagbawas sa bilang ng benepisyaryo nito (That’s why the reduction of 4PS beneficiaries is a big deal),” Brosas said on Aug. 10.
Her resolution also put into question the poverty threshold of P12,082 per month, which she described as unrealistic.
Abalos, who represents 4Ps party-list, gave a breakdown of the 1.3-million families disqualified from the cash grant program.
“516,000 out of the 1.3 million are still eligible pero may mga (but there are still) pending updates pa and grievances. Yung 776,000 na hindi na (who aren’t) eligible, ito yung mga sinabi ng DSWD na hindi na eligible members, at pangalawa, naka-angat na sila sa poverty threshold (These are the ones the DSWD says are ineligible and who have surpassed the poverty threshold),” Abalos explained.
“Yung tanong po ng aming partido, saan po nanggaling ang 1.3 million na na-delist (Our party’s question is, where did the 1.3 million delisted beneficiaries come from)? Was due process observed?” he asked.
Abalos also said that he and his fellow 4Ps party-list nominee and Minority Leader Rep. Marcelino Libanan filed an HR seeking an increase of the cash grants afforded to beneficiaries of the 4Ps program.
On the other hand, Lee of the AGRI Party-list explained that he had filed HR 89 urging the DSWD to include farmers and fisherfolk as beneficiaries of the 4Ps program.
“Batay po sa aming pagsusuri at pag-aaral, sila po ay ang sektor na pinakamababa ang kinikita araw-araw. Nasa P331 lamang kada-araw halos ang kinikita nila (According to our research, they are the sector with the least daily earnings. They earn only around P331 a day),” Lee said.
According to Brosas’s HR, beneficiaries of the 4Ps can be disqualified and rendered ineligible due to the following: “1) those who no longer have children below 18 years old or are studying; 2) those who are earning P12,000 and above per month; 3) those who have reached the program’s seven-year duration; 4) those who are non-compliant or have violated the 4Ps conditions; and 5) those who waived their membership.”