Accounting of P64-billion CCT fund sought

MANILA, Philippines - Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza asked yesterday the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to account for the P64-billion fund for the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program this year.

Atienza said before lawmakers could even consider the DSWD request for an additional P15 billion for the CCT for 2015, an accounting of the fund is called for.

He said since 2011, there have been persistent reports that not all beneficiaries – nearly four million poor households this year – have been receiving their dole-outs.

The DSWD in its website claimed that each beneficiary receives P1,400 monthly for a family of three, or P300 for each child.

For health care, each family receives P500 regardless of the number of children. But they have to maintain certain standards, like their children have to regularly attend school.

“The huge budget for the DSWD’s CCT and the Pantawid ng Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is not being spent as it should to help alleviate the plight of millions of poor Filipinos,” Atienza said.

“Reports on the ground show that there are families receiving P1,200, some P1,400 and some P2,000. Some families receive the dole-outs monthly and some quarterly. What methods do they have in determining the amounts and frequency of release?” he said.

He also received reports that if mothers fail to attend the required seminars, including one on family planning, they are penalized with a deduction of P100 to P500 from their allocation for the month or quarter.

“The same happens when their children are absent from class. But where do these fines go? Why are they not reflected in their reports?” Atienza asked, adding that these methods are susceptible to graft for those handling the money.

He said penalizing mothers for failing to attend family planning seminars is tantamount to coercion, which is against the Supreme Court ruling on the Reproductive Health Law.

Atienza said the reported irregular payments would only mean that not all of the P64 billion reach the beneficiaries and a third of the amount might be lost to corruption and inefficiency.