MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker has urged the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to have “realistic standards” in delisting beneficiaries from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps.
In a statement, 1-Pacman party-list Rep. Mikee Romero, who chairs the House of Representstives committee on poverty alleviation, yesterday said his panel supports the moratorium on the removal of up to 1.3 million poor families from the program.
Romero noted that the DSWD should “carefully assess” the situation of families to be removed from the program and those who would replace them.
“We are all for that, but let us make sure that the exiting families have really improved their financial status and some of their children have finished college and are now employed,” he said.
The lawmaker emphasized that the DSWD should have realistic standards in removing 4Ps beneficiaires, as he quoted an official of the agency that a covered household earning more than P12,000 a month would no longer be entitled to financial assistance.
“Is this level of monthly income a reasonable threshold? Is P400 a day enough to feed a family?” he asked.
The imposition of a moratoriumm will not hurt the program because it has enough funds for it, according to Romero.
“Its funding in the annual national budget is food for 4.4 million famlies. Today, 3.9 million families are considered ‘active,’ of whom 3.2 million are receiving financial assistance. Some 700,000 households are ‘under review’,” he said.
Last week, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian announced that a moratorium has been issued on the delisting of 4Ps families pending re-assessment of their status.