MANILA — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) assured Wednesday it will resume granting of cash to some 1,269 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries in Tinoc town, Ifugao after results of an investigation into the alleged robbery-holdup of 4Ps funds come out.
“Payout of their cash grants will resume once a thorough investigation on the alleged robbery-holdup incident involving 4Ps funds in the town has been executed and results have been gathered,” DSWD said in its official statement.
At the same time, it also apologized for any inconvenience the incident may have caused to the beneficiaries.
According to the Field Office in the Cordillera Administrative Region, the money stolen amounted to PHP2.7 million, which is supposed to cover the cash grants of the beneficiaries.
The alleged incident happened on Monday, May 21, in Tinoc.
Witnesses in the incident (the ones transporting the payout funds) are personnel of the Lagawe Multi-Purpose Development Cooperative (LMDC), a local conduit of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).
Landbank has been the partner of the DSWD in the release of cash grants to its 4.4 million 4Ps beneficiaries nationwide. The Department has engaged the services of the bank as its depository and disbursing bank since the start of the implementation of Pantawid in 2008.
Landbank has been authorized by the DSWD to identify, negotiate, accredit, and enter separate agreements with qualified conduits for the distribution of the grants to beneficiaries.
The DSWD, through its Field Office CAR, is continuously coordinating with Landbank, Philippine National Police, and the concerned local government unit in the investigation of the incident. (DSWD-PR)
