No stopping cash aid to Marawi poor–DSWD

Evacuees from Marawi City, among them beneficiaries of the government’s cash transfer program, stay at Saguiaran town hall compound in Lanao del Sur province as government troops battle terrorists in June. —AFP PHOTO

Beneficiaries of the government’s conditional cash transfer program in Marawi City do not have to worry about losing their stipend for failing to fulfill conditions such as sending their children to school, or going to barangay health centers or local clinics.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has suspended the conditions of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) for Marawi, according to Emmanuel Leyco, the agency’s officer in charge.

Leyco said this was intended to ensure that the families, who had been displaced by five months of fighting between government forces and Islamic State-allied extremists, would continue to get a steady source of cash.

At least 12,000 households in Marawi are enrolled in the 4Ps, DSWD records showed.

“We have suspended the conditionalities that will allow them to receive funds even if they are not attending school or not going to health clinics, or not even attending the family development sessions,” Leyco said in a press briefing in Malacañang on Friday.

“We’d like to make sure that the funds are delivered to them,” he added.

The conditions will be suspended for 2018, he said.

According to Leyco, other families from Marawi may enroll in the 4Ps if they need it, although the government is also exerting efforts to provide them with livelihood opportunities.

The DSWD has modified its sustainable livelihood programs, so even those still staying in evacuation centers would qualify.

As of Dec. 11, 18,478 families (92,390 people) have returned to Marawi.

Not all areas of the city have been cleared and declared safe for residents, as the military continues combing through the battle zones to check for improvised explosive devices.

Leyco also said the DSWD had opened an operations center in Marawi to ensure that its programs in the city would be responsive to the requirements of displaced residents.

“The DSWD will focus on the recovery and reestablishment of human infrastructure in the communities where the [internally displaced persons] operate,” he said.

“In particular, we’d like to make sure that the people of Marawi are able to recover not just their confidence in themselves but also their confidence in their communities,” he added.

The other DSWD programs in Marawi include supplementary feeding and assistance to individuals in crisis.