DSWD says 'poverty targeting' in RP difficult

from ABS CBN News

Government officials are having difficulty getting help to the peolpe who need it in the Philippines. Challenges for a subsudy program are explored in this article. - Kale

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) admitted on Friday that it encountered difficulty identifying poor Filipino families for pro-poor programs of the government.

"Targeting is difficult, sometimes a mix of rich and poor families can be found in a certain area," said DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral.

In the government's pro-poor program, "Pantawid Pamilya," qualified beneficiaries will be handed P500 every month within a year, with an additional P300 peso for every child in the family that still goes to school. Only three children in each family can qualify for the additional P300 cash.

The DSWD expects 3,000 poor families in the Philippines will benefit from this pro-poor program of the government.

The pro-poor project started last March in Barangay 13 in Pasay City.

The ABS-CBN News team went to an area in Pasay City and met Aleta and Danilo Ligganay, a couple with a 6-year-old child.

Danilo Lingganay said the P500 cash they received from the government every month is good enough to ease their burden from the rising prices of commodities.

"I use the money to buy vitamins and milk for Clint John (their son). He has not missed his classes," said Aleta.

Their neighbour, Mercy Salim, was pregnant with her eighth child. She claimed she was excluded from the "Pantawad Pamilya."

"I don’t know why they did not choose us. The subsidy will greatly help us," Salim said.

Cabral said the government will conduct a survey to identify the poor families that really need the subsidies provided by the government.

Link to full article. May expire in future.