THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Northern Mindanao Region announced on Tuesday the postponement of over-the-counter payouts of cash grants for some 30,800 household beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in the region due to technical glitches.
DSWD-Northern Mindanao said that the delay of payout release is due to the current technical glitches between the social welfare office and the Land Bank of the Philippines' (LBP) IT systems.
Among the affected beneficiaries are from the towns of Catarman, Guinsiliban, Mahinog, Mambajao, and Sagay in Camiguin province; Kitaotao, Cabanglasan, Libona, and Malitbog in Bukidnon province; Alubijid, Balingoan, El Salvador City, Claveria, Gitagum, Initao, Kinoguitan, Libertad, Lugait, Manticao, Naawan, and Sugbongcogon in Misamis Oriental province.
"We are saddened by the postponement. We know the beneficiaries really need the money for their education and health, we hope Land Bank of the Philippines can immediately make proper actions and solutions to the problem. DSWD is limited in resolving the issue," Oliver Inodeo, DSWD-Northern Mindanao spokesperson for the 4Ps program, said on Tuesday, August 22.
Egardo Micayabas, chief executive officer of First Community Cooperative (Ficco), said they cannot proceed with the payout because his IT team, together with LBP, is still in the process of configuring the IPsec registration, one of the requirements of LBP's Regional Bids and Awards Committee for them to issue notice to proceed, purchase order, and funding for FICCO.
Ficco is a conduit of LBP for the cash grant distribution to 4Ps beneficiaries.
DSWD-Northern Mindanao chief Nestor Ramos has already requested LBP-Central Office for the immediate resolution of the issue with Ficco.
In his letter to LBP, Ramos said the delay, which already happened not only once, has affected the relationship of DSWD and its 4Ps beneficiaries.
DSWD has earlier scheduled the payouts in August, while over-the-counter cash grants are originally set every two months.
According to the government's Official Gazette, the 4Ps is a human development measure of the National Government that provides conditional cash grants to the poor to improve the health, nutrition, and the education of children. The program has two types of cash grants that are given out to household-beneficiaries -- health grant and education grant.
Health grant provides P500 per household every month, or a total of P6,000 every year; while the education grant provides P300 per child every month for 10 months, or a total of P3,000 every year (a household may register a maximum of three children for the program). (SunStar Cagayan de Oro/SunStar Philippines)