20 cash grant beneficiaries in NegOcc suspended for pawning cash cards

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – A total of 20 beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, also known as 4Ps here were suspended as of October 2022 after they reportedly pawned their cash cards.

This was disclosed by Emily Octavio, provincial operations officer for provincial operations office 1 of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Negros Occidental.

Octavio said that these households were tagged as “code 24” which means they have committed an offense.

Octavio said the program does not tolerate such action. Thus, they were reprimanded and suspended for their violation.

The suspension may cover one or two periods, she added.

For the third offense, Octavio said that a 4Ps beneficiary can be delisted to receive a cash grant.

She said that beneficiaries can also be delisted from the program based on the provision of Republic Act 11310 or the 4Ps Act, such as natural attrition (if the children reach 19 years old), the last monitored child has graduated from high school, not classified as poor based on the latest assessment, and if the household voluntarily waives from the program.

Meanwhile, Octavio said that they have monitored and funded 265,102 4Ps beneficiaries in the province, covering two periods.

Octavio said that P558,328,500 worth of cash grants was provided to 131,923 Pantawid households in the period of February to March, while P581,397,900 worth of cash grants was given to 133,179 households in the period of April to May.

Octavio said that monitoring and releasing of grants are being conducted every two months.

Thus, she noted that the number of beneficiaries every period varies, depending on the compliances of the households.

She said that there are some beneficiaries who transfer residence to other regions and fail to follow the updating procedure to allow them to continue receiving the cash grant.

As of October, Octavio said that 132,237 households in the province are waiting for the cash grant destitution for period 5, which is early next year.

The number comprised 71,415 households in northern part of the province and Bacolod City, covering 14 local government units (LGUs), and 60,822 households in southern part of the province, covering 18 LGUs.