DSWD-7 intensifies family dev't sessions after reports of 2Ps cash misuse

by: Rachelle M. Nessia

DUMAGUETE CITY, April 1 (PIA) --- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Region 7 has intensified their family development sessions in the wake of reports that some recipients of the government's poverty reduction program known as Pantawid Pamilya (2Ps) are allegedly misusing their state-provided cash aid.

DSWD-7 Information Officer Aileen Lariba said they have stepped up the counselling sessions and community assemblies with the 2Ps family-beneficiaries regionwide in the hopes of putting a stop to the alleged misuse of the monetary grants being distributed by DSWD under the program.

Negros Oriental Third District Rep. Pryde Henry Teves, in a speech held March 28 during the 2Ps ceremonial cash payout in Zamboanguita town, has alleged that fathers belonging to the 2Ps household recipients spend the cash grants on gambling and drinking sprees.

The financial assistance given to the families, amounting to as much as 1,400 pesos each month depending on the number of children attending school in each family.

This is intended for health, nutritional and educational expenses of each child.

Teves claimed to have gathered data showing a 50% increase in liquor sales in the Bayawan City and Sta. Catalina areas following the cash distribution to 2Ps recipients in the two towns in December last year.

Lariba confirmed that they held a cash payout to beneficiaries in the areas that same month.

The congressman said sales of alcoholic beverages in December are normally low in the predominantly farming communities of Bayawan City and Sta. Catalina as it is non-harvest period. "I was surprised to see the increase in liquor sales and even cigarette sales likewise went up," said Teves.

Lariba admitted that DSWD have heard of similar incidents of fathers misusing the cash grants in other areas "but this is the first time that we heard that there is data that will reportedly back up these allegations."

Asked to react on the congressman's claims, Lariba, quoting DSWD Region 7 Director Evelyn Macapobre, said: "We have yet to receive the concrete data that Cong. Teves claims to have, but we have already taken steps to address this issue."

Macapobre has reportedly urged the local government units (LGUs) thru their 2Ps Municipal Advisory Committees chaired by the mayor to immediately act on the issue at the municipal level. "They should resolve this as the committee can come up with intervention measures that will put a stop to the misuse of the cash assistance," said Lariba.

DSWD is also discouraging the fathers of the program's beneficiaries to attend the cash payouts. "We tell the mothers not to bring along their husbands to avoid the men from spending the money right away for purposes other than what was intended," she said.

Meanwhile, Cong. Teves is pushing for the inclusion of conditions that will be imposed on the fathers of the 2Ps family recipients, as he believes this is one measure that will effectively put a stop to the abuse of the cash aid.

This after he noted that there is a lack of conditions for the fathers to be followed under the program.

The current conditions outlined in the 2Ps program are directed at mothers and children of the household beneficiaries for them to follow religiously if they wish to continue receiving the cash grants.

Lariba said that should the conditions end up being for the good of the families, then DSWD will fully support Teves' move. "This will even make our job as implementors of the program easier because right now, fathers are only encouraged to attend the regular family planning and counselling sessions being conducted for 4Ps recipients. It would be better if the fathers would also attend to these. They should be involved," she stressed.

Asked why there were no conditions set for the fathers to follow, Lariba explained that the government was focused on empowering women and children - being the disadvantaged sectors - when the poverty reduction strategy was first adopted in the country.

The existing conditions in the 2PS program were patterned after the conditions outlined by World Bank under similar poverty-reduction programs in other countries.

To make changes in the conditions will take some time, said Lariba. "Changes can only be made after a series of consultations among the congressmen, DSWD, the advisory councils and the program's funding provider which is the World Bank." (RMN/PIA-7 Negros Oriental)

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7 families in CV dropped from 2Ps recipient list

by: Rachelle M. Nessia

DUMAGUETE CITY, April 1 (PIA) --- A total of seven families in Sibonga located in Cebu, Philippines will no longer enjoy the cash aid being distributed under the government's poverty-reduction program after the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) removed from its roster of recipients due to "inclusion error."

Said families were discovered to have been erroneously included in the list of beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya (2Ps) program in Sibonga, a third-class municipality two hours away from Cebu City.

"These are households that should not have been included in the program's beneficiaries in the first place as they were not qualified," explained Aileen Lariba, information officer of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Region 7 and one of the program's implementors in the region.

The seven make up the total number of families that were dropped from the program since 2Ps was implemented in Central Visayas provinces.

DSWD is tasked to identify poverty-stricken families that will qualify for the program's cash assistance after extensive household assessments.

There are, however, reports in some areas that some well-to-do families have been listed in the program's roster of beneficiaries. This is what DSWD calls an "inclusion error" and one of the grounds for removal from the program.

Another basis for removal from the program is "grievance error", which refers to violations of the 2Ps conditions committed by the family-beneficiary.

Lariba admitted that their office has received several recommendations from the local government units' 2Ps municipal advisory committees to remove certain families in their areas from the program due to grievance errors. "But as much as possible, we don't want to remove these families from the list as it would defeat the purpose of the program," she explained.

She urged these LGUs to intervene and initiate counselling sessions with the erring families. "DSWD considers removal only as a last resort and after all possible intervention measures have been exhausted," said Lariba. (RMN/PIA7-Negros Oriental)

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DSWD grants P19M as cash aid to 4Ps families in two NegOr towns

by: Rachelle Nessia

DUMAGUETE CITY, March 31 (PIA) --- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Region 7 released nearly P19 million in cash grants today to more than a thousand families from two towns in Negros Oriental, Philippines.

The grants are the monetary aid being distributed by DSWD for poverty-stricken families under the government's poverty reduction program called Pantawid Pamilya (2Ps) program.

The cash grants were released through Land Bank of the Philippines and GLOBE Remit-Gcash to 6,310 recipients in Guihulngan between 9:30 to 11:30 this morning and 4,455 in Mabinay from 1:30 to 3:30 this afternoon.

DSWD Region 7 Information officer Aileen Lariba said that DSWD Regional Director Evelyn Macapobre led the ceremonial CCT pay-out together with First District Rep. Jocelyn Limkaiching in Guihulngan and Second District George P. Arnaiz in Mabinay.

The cash distribution in the two towns came in the heels of the first ceremonial cash payout held earlier for 1,058 4Ps beneficiaries from 10 villages in Zamboanguita.

DSWD has recently partnered with Globe Telecommunications to tap the latter's cash remittance services for an easier and hassle-free distribution of the cash grants to the program's recipients.

2Ps is the government's poverty reduction strategy that provides a cash grant for five years to beneficiaries at around P6,000 a year, of which P500 is intended for health and nutritional expenses for each household recipient per month while P300 is for the monthly educational expenses of each child.

DSWD is eyeing a total of 57,000 target beneficiaries in the province.

There are currently 17 LGUs from the three political districts here benefitting from 2Ps. (RMN/PIA-7 Negros Oriental)

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BFP records 3 fires in March in Dumaguete City

By: Jennifer Catan-Tilos

DUMAGUETE CITY, Mar 30 (PIA) Dumaguete City Fire Department has recorded three fire incidents so far in March, a month declared as Fire Prevention Month because most big fires occur during this month.

City Arson Investigator Ranulfo Abines of Fire Department said a total of P48,000 were reported in damages to properties in the three fire incidents in the city.  

These include fire occurred at World View Pension which caused by an over heated air-condition unit; Opeñas, a circuit breaker; and a residence at Bypass with loose connection of service drop wire, Abines said.  

Arson Investigator added all of the fire cases in Dumaguete were triggered by misuse of electricity.

Besides, the illegal tapping and flying connection, which a single house can be a source of electricity supply for several houses, are few of the common examples for electrical misuse.

Meanwhile, Abines said that last year’s damage was much lower than of this year with a total of P 1,200 only with one fire incident of a banana cue stall.

However, Abines attributed the decrease of fire cases in the city is due to a year-round fire prevention awareness campaign or series of lectures in the elementary and high schools and establishments by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

Part of the bureau’s intensified fire safety is to increase the level of public awareness including the children.

The fire official has reminded the public to keep burning candles and gas lanterns away from paper, curtains and other flammable materials, particularly during brown-outs, and do not allow children to play matches.  Another fire safety tips such as placing phone numbers of fire department/stations near the phone, disposing of waste paper, and rubbish.

He however, advised that every building or structure should have at least one fire extinguisher to ensure the immediate suppression of fire incidents. (PIA NegOr/JCT)