By Lilian Mellejor/PNA
DAVAO CITY — The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Region 11 (DSWD) has warned beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) against pawning their automated teller machine (ATM) cards or cash cards.
DSWD-11 Information Officer Carmela Duron said that under the Grievance Redress System (GRS) on misbehavior of beneficiaries’ guidelines, cash cards “are not allowed to be used as collateral in loans”.
According to Pantawid Regional Grievance Redress System Focal Person, Odyssa Esther Matas, any beneficiary found committing the offense will be subjected to counseling and must promise not to do it again.
However, Matas said habitual offenders will be subjected to cash grants suspension or referred for delisting, depending on the assessment of the Municipal Link officer and the social worker in-charge.
The GRS guideline is also supported by the approved policy of the Pantawid National Advisory Committee (NAC), which states that “inappropriate utilization of the grants such as pawning, or making it as collateral and selling of Cash Cards and/or Pantawid Pamilya IDs, using and/or spending grants for purposes other than those intended for education and health needs of the family are all subject to appropriate sanctions.”
Matas said that in 2018, DSWD-11 found at least 186 beneficiaries violating this guideline, and the agency has already sanctioned the erring persons.
She also reminded Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries to comply with other conditions of the program to avoid incurring reductions in their entitlements by giving “priority to the needs of their children, especially to their education and health.”
DSWD records show that Davao Region currently has 254,727 4Ps beneficiaries.
