The Department of Social Welfare& Development in Region 7 will review the list of beneficiaries in Apo Island, Dauin town in Negros Oriental to the government’s pro-poor program, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or Conditional Cash Transfer, following a report that some of the pre-identified recipients are seemingly no longer qualified for such.
DSWD-7 Information Officer Ails Lariba assured to go over the list of Apo Island beneficiaries, totaling 42, after the island-village chief, Liberty Pascobello Rhodes, noted that some of those listed no longer fall under the category of being “poor”.
Rhodes said some of her constituents were already married to foreigners, while one had reportedly left for France, thus changing their economic status that no longer qualifies them to the Conditional Cash Transfer program.
In fact, Rhodes is seeking a house-to-house survey on the island to determine who among her constituents would actually be eligible for the pro-poor program.
Lariba explained that the list was based on a survey conducted sometime 2008 to 2009 under the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction program to identify who and where the poor are.
While a re-survey is not possible as it would affect the nationwide registration and validation process of the 4Ps program, Lariba said the list that was forwarded to Rhodes is not final yet.
She admitted, though, the need to re-validate the lists of beneficiaries as, indeed, some of those initially identified may have already improved their economic status by the time the program was to be implemented in an area.
Also, as part of the Pantawid Pamilya campaign, constituents who believe are eligible for the CCT can apply through the “on demand application” scheme, posters of which were supposed to have been posted in a beneficiary area, such as Apo Island.
Apo Island and its mother local government unit, Dauin town, are among the new Pantawid Pamilya beneficiary areas in Negros Oriental under Set 5, of which the conditional cash transfer will take place beginning next year, said Lariba.