THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) yesterday vowed to insulate its social services and programs from partisan politics and assured the public that these would not be used by politicians running in the May 2025 national and local elections.
Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao, who is the DSWD spokesperson, said the agency will implement stringent guidelines to ensure that their social services and programs are shielded from any form of political interference.
“Ina-assure po natin na lahat naman ay inaayos ng ating kagawaran… (ating pong tinitiyak) na hindi nga po magagamit iyong mga programs and services natin to advance the political interests of some (We are assuring everyone that the agency will ensure that everything will be in order… you can be sure that none of our programs and services will be used to advance the political interests of some),” Dumlao said.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has exempted 28 programs and services of the DSWD from the election spending ban to allow the uninterrupted delivery of social services to the public.
The poll body, however, directed the DSWD to make sure that the distribution of cash and other forms of assistance will not be used for partisan politics, especially by election candidates.
Exempted from the election spending ban are the Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), Services for Residential and Center-based Clients, Supplementary Feeding Program, Pag-Abot Program, Walang Gutom Program, Tara Basa! Tutoring Program, and Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS).
Also exempted are the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens, Protective Services for Individuals & Families in Especially Difficult Circumstances (COMBASED), Protective Services for Individuals & Families in Especially Difficult Circumstances (PROPER), Services to Displaced Persons (Deportees), Recovery and Reintegration Program for Trafficked Persons, and Assistance to Persons with Disability and Senior Citizens.
Other exempted programs are the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction, KALAHI-CIDSS-KKB, KALAHI CIDSS-National Community-Driven Development Program — Additional Financing (NCDDP-AF, Philippines Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Project, Bangsamoro Umpungan sa Nutrisyon (BangUN), PAMANA (Peace and Development), PAMANA — DSWD/LGU Led Livelihood, Pag-Abot Program, and Beneficiary First Project.
The other programs are Trust Receipt, Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty, Social Technology Development and Enhancement, and financial assistance initiatives that are routinely and normally given by the agency to qualified individuals.
As this developed, Dumlao denied that there are beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) from 2020 to 2022 who were not listed in the Listahanan 2 database but still received benefits from the program.
Dumlao said all 4Ps beneficiaries referred as “‘unlisted” in a 2023 Commission on Audit (COA) report who were paid have been accounted via name-matching that were meticulously conducted by members of the DSWD’s 4Ps and Listahanan divisions.
The COA, in its 2023 annual audit report, said the DSWD paid 14,004 4Ps beneficiaries from 2020 to 2022, of which, 9,553 were not listed in the 2020 list; 9,057 in the 2021 registry; and 8,498 in the 2022 listing.
Dumlao said the DSWD, through its 4Ps National Program Management Office (NPMO) and National Household Targeting Office (NHTO), conducted rigorous data validation and performed a manual name-matching process on the 14,004 households and found that 17 households from the validated sample households were not found in Listahanan 1 and 2 but were later included in Listahanan 3.
“We acknowledge the findings of COA and view them as an opportunity to further enhance the targeting processes. Our priority is to ensure that the benefits of 4Ps reach the poorest and most vulnerable families across the country,” she said.
Dumlao said that with the institutionalization of the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS), which is set to be implemented this year, DSWD is confident that it will lessen or prevent similar issues in the future.
She said the agency is committed to transparency and ensuring the effective implementation of the 4Ps program.
