De Lima asks DSWD to reconsider suspension of cash transfer programs

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Leila de Lima on Thursday appealed to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to reconsider the suspension of its cash transfer programs to ease the burden of its poor beneficiaries in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis in the country.

In a dispatch from Camp Crame where she is currently detained, De Lima expressed disappointment over DSWD’s decision to suspend its cash transfer programs at a time when poor families depend on it.

READ: DSWD confirms: Cash transfer programs suspended, but aid for poor continues

“As soon as we learned that community quarantine is the only way to arrest the spread of COVID-19, we already know that the poor, who depend on their daily toil for their sustenance, will be most affected,” said De Lima, chair of the  Senate social justice, welfare and rural development committee.

“[The] DSWD should have made sure that programs to ensure that our countrymen will not go hungry are implemented in spite of the quarantine,” she added.

Among the cash transfer programs temporarily suspended was the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens, and Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT).

DSWD said the temporary suspension is aimed at protecting the poor beneficiaries from being exposed to the disease, which has so far infected 202 individuals in the country and resulted in the death of 17 patients.

READ: 15 new COVID-19 cases bring total to 202

President Rodrigo Duterte recently placed the country under a state of calamity to allow local government units (LGUs), especially those affected by coronavirus outbreak, to tap its quick response funds to provide basic services to its people, among others.

De Lima pointed out that it is the poor and the marginalized sectors of the society who bear the brunt of the Luzon-wide imposition of enhanced community quarantine.

“The scenes in the checkpoints and public transport stations last Monday should serve as a sobering reminder that many of our countrymen would sooner risk their lives against COVID-19 rather than fail to provide for their families,” she said.

“Our government, under the principle of parens patriae (parent of the nation), should ensure that we will provide for those who will not be able to provide for themselves during this time of crisis,” she added.

De Lima said that instead of suspending the cash transfer programs for the poor, DSWD should expand its social welfare programs to help in alleviating the sufferings of the most vulnerable sectors, especially among daily wage earners.

“When disaster strikes, the government stands as the only refuge of the lowliest members of society. I implore the DSWD to use this mindset and think of innovative ways to continue with, and even expand, our social welfare programs,” she said.

Enacted into law last April, the conditional cash transfer, also referred to as 4Ps, provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor, improve their health, nutrition, and access to education of their children, De Lima noted.

Under the law, farmers, fishermen, and those in the informal sectors and in disadvantaged areas are automatically included in the government’s standardized targeting by the household beneficiary, she added.

However, DSWD clarified in a statement on Tuesday that beneficiaries of its 4Ps program will continue to receive grants and rice subsidy through their cash cards.

DSWD also said program beneficiaries with Europay, Mastercard, and Visa (EMV) cash cards may withdraw their grants on March 24, 26, 28, and April 4.

“Cash grants credited through the EMV card may be withdrawn from any Land Bank of the Philippines Automated Teller Machines (LBP-ATMs) or any ATM subject to minimal charges,” it noted.

“Beneficiaries may also use their EMV cards in establishments that receive payment through point-of-sale,” it added.

DSWD likewise said it is looking for alternative means to distribute cash grants to beneficiaries who have yet to receive their EMV cash cards.

KGA