Social Welfare & Development Sec. Corazon “Dingky” Soliman has issued a stern warning to persons, including politicians, who will take advantage of the programs of government for their own vested interests.
Soliman was told an unnamed politician in Negros Oriental had forewarned beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) their names will be removed from the list if the said politician will not win in the forthcoming elections.
She stressed nobody, not even the President, can remove a Pantawid beneficiary from the list but the concerned beneficiary himself or herself for failure to comply with the conditions set by government.
Soliman reminded the beneficiaries in the province and in the entire country for that matter not to vote for politicians who spread lies about the program.
“Only the beneficiary can cause his or her membership with the conditional cash transfer program and nobody else,” she pointed out.
This developed as reports reaching the DSWD secretary also disclosed certain local government units in the province are allegedly requiring Pantawid beneficiaries in their respective areas of jurisdiction to attend political meetings and gatherings.
Soliman issued a verbal directive to DSWD Negros Island Region regional director Shalyn Marie Sun Lucero in the presence of Gov. Roel Degamo who was also invited to grace the occasion, to validate the information and make a report as soon as possible.
It was reported that minimal amounts were even collected from 4Ps beneficiary who would refuse to attend such meetings.
The DSWD secretary was in Dumaguete Monday for the opening of a three-day national assessment of programs and projects for last year as well as for planning sessions for 2016.
The national development conference has its theme: “DSWD at 65: Mga Kwento at Tagumpay Tungo sa Masaganang Pagbabago” held at a local hotel in Dumaguete.
Required to attend the conference are regional directors, bureau directors, executive committees as part of the yearly assessment, and to recognize the new region which is Region 18, as a coming out party for the new region with Lucero as the first regional director.
Included in the discussions is the transition period as soon as the new President takes over the helm of government in June this year and that policies have to be strengthened aside from the social pension, supplementary feeding program, among others.
Soliman also made it clear in Dumaguete the livelihood component of the Conditional Cash Tansfer had been implemented since 2013 in response to recommendations by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano for government to allocate one billion pesos in each of the 18 regions of the country.
Records will show that of the more than 4.5 million beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya, more than 390,000 had benefitted from the livelihood component for starting a small business and employment facilitation with total funding allotted so far by government at P9 billion.
As a result, 1.5 million more or less families have been bailed out of poverty. (PNA)
