The Department of Social Welfare and Development has purged 4,515 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City as of June 22, DSWD Western Visayas spokesperson May Rago Castillo said Thursday, July 14.
Of the 4,515 who exited or graduated from the 4ps there are 4,116 from Negros Occidental, and 399 are from Bacolod City, she said.
As of July 7 the remaining 4Ps beneficiaries in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City are 133,988, she added.
The cleansing of the 4Ps beneficiaries is ongoing until the end of the month and the number of those to be removed from the list is expected to increase, Castillo said.
The majority of those removed were due to natural attrition, she said.
Among those removed were those who no longer have children aged 0 to 18 years old who need government support for education and health, and those who have reached the level of self-sufficiency and can provide for their own needs, Castillo said.
There were a few who were removed from the list for committing misdemeanors and for non-compliance with the program’s conditions, she added.
The total beneficiaries removed from the list in Western Visayas so far are 12,949 with the highest in Negros Occidental at 4,515, followed by Iloilo with 3,235, Capiz – 1,900, Antique – 1,598, Aklan – 1,540, and Guimaras – 161, DSWD data showed.
DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo said their “cleansing” would allow other poor Filipinos to benefit from the government’s cash grant.*