THE regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Davao region clarified that none of their funds under the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program went to the New People's Army (NPA) during former secretary Judy Taguiwalo's watch.
DSWD-Davao Regional Director Mercedita Jabagat said during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at The Annex of SM City Davao on Monday, September 18, that their office only serves legitimate members of Pamilyang Pilipino Pantawid Program (4Ps).
"Wala mi budget nga nahatag sa lain kundi MCCT lang ug regular Pantawid and katong regular nila nga subsidy and cash for work. Individual man ang mudawat didto sa mga IPs ug wala mi lain nahatag (We did not give budget to others except for MCCT members and regular Pantawid members), Jabagat said.
Former Secretary Taguiwalao, who was rejected by the Commission on Appointments as the head of DSWD, earlier denied the information received by President Rodrigo Duterte that some of DSWD's fund went to the NPA.
Jabagat added that they have several members of Pantawid under the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer Program for Indigenous Peoples (MCCT-IP).
As of September 6, they recorded a total of 29,115 members for MCCT-IP alone and most of them are from Davao City with 10,710 members while 9,549 are in Davao del Norte and 6,188 are in Compostela Valley.
In Davao del Sur, they have 2,186 members while 248 in Davao Oriental and 234 in Davao Occidental. The regular CCT members are 231,831. Thus, Davao region has a total of 260,946 4Ps beneficiaries.
"MCCT, that's exclusive for IPs tungod daghan nakita na naay mga IPs nga wala makita so human gi-modify para lang sila makasulod dayon and naa regular assistance (The MCCT is exclusive for IPs because we noticed IPs who are not included that is why we modified it)," she said.
Jabagat also said that those who wish to get accredited will first undergo verification.
She said Pasaka, the Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao, was not able to get a nod from them after its failure to comply with the needed requirements.
The organization sought partnership with the DSWD in implementing programs that aim to champion Lumad concerns but none of their officers showed up when asked to appear before the DSWD office.