DSWD: Marcos wants 4Ps beneficiaries list ‘cleaned’

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. wants the Department of Social Welfare and Development to clean the list of beneficiaries on the DSWD’s targeted social assistance programs, with those no longer qualified to receive cash grants from the government weeded out, DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo said Saturday.

In an interview on Dobol B TV, Tulfo said that several beneficiaries had “graduated” from the conditional cash transfer program (CCT) - popularly known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps - particularly those whose children had finished schooling but still refused to “surrender” their accounts and continue receiving cash grants.

“‘Yan ang utos sa akin ng Pangulong Marcos na linisin ang listahan ng DSWD ng mga tumatanggap ng benepisyo,” the DSWD chief said.

(That’s the order of President Marcos, to clean the DSWD's list of beneficiaries.)

Tulfo stressed that hundreds of thousands of Filipinos nationwide who were waiting to be included in the 4Ps would benefit from the plan to clean the cash transfer program list.

The DSWD identifies the beneficiaries of 4Ps and other social assistance programs through its National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction or Listahanan.

To execute Marcos’ order, Tulfo said that “within the next few weeks” he would issue an “amnesty” call for those who are already unqualified 4Ps beneficiaries to surrender their accounts to the DSWD within 30 or 60 days or face charges.

“Kasi parang estafa, ‘yan kasi niloloko mo ang gobyerno,” he said.

(It’s like estafa because you are defrauding the government.)

Apart from this, the DSWD chief also planned to implement a reward system in which an informer would be rewarded if he or she can point out who in their communities should be removed from the 4Ps list. — DVM, GMA News