DAVAO CITY—Local government executives must implement the national government’s conditional cash transfer program without any shade of irregularity, the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DSWD-ARMM) warned.
Otherwise, the ARMM would file criminal and administrative charges against erring officials, said Laisa Masuhud Alamia, ARMM executive secretary and concurrent regional DSWD chief.
Alamia led the fourth round of LGU Assembly on Social Welfare Protection, which gave a special focus on the implementation of the conditional cash transfer program called Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, or 4Ps.
The fourth round was held for the local governments in the province of Maguindanao. The assembly was held on Wednesday at the Camp Siongco, Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, the headquarters of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.
She said her department would be stern on monitoring the observance of the “no fraud” policy as she also explained the importance of the 4Ps “and the dos and don’ts of implementing it.”
She said the clean slate that must be observed was meant “to lessen, if not totally eradicate, irregularities in 4Ps’ implementation.”
Alamia warned officials caught involved in fraudulent activities “during and after the payouts to the beneficiaries would be ousted from their respective posts and could even face criminal charges with the assistance of law-enforcement authorities.”
She said the agency already coordinated with Smart Telecommunications to set up the Infocast Messaging System that, once operational, “would enable 4Ps beneficiaries and others to send their concerns to DSWD-ARMM regarding 4Ps.”
“The department is also coordinating with other agencies, such as the National Bureau of Investigation, the Commission on Elections, the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines in counterchecking and evaluating the list of 4Ps members,” she added.
Alamia also elaborated on the different variations of corruption in 4Ps implementation and how manipulations of the program have been done by erring officials.
“We thought of having this LGU [local government unit] assembly. Let us help each other to correct this problem,” Alamia said in Filipino.
“Other than LGU officials, those at the Department of Education and Integrated Public Health Office could also be part of corruption. With this, the significant role of the Department of Health and DepEd in checking and monitoring ghost beneficiaries could be valuable,” she added.
Aside from these agencies, the DSWD-ARMM also sought the help of the Darul Ifta, or the local Islamic consultative body, to provide religious guidance. The Darul Ifta is also Islam’s house of jurisprudence and the final interpreter of the Koran and other Islamic concerns.
Alamia said a well-implemented 4Ps program would redound to a contented beneficiary saying that “helping the needy in the community is not just a responsibility as public servants but also as Muslims.”
The ARMM Bureau of Public Information said it was conducting the LGU assemblies in its mainland provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, and in the southwestern island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi to maximize the intent of the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.
It said the Mindanao Martial Law Instruction Order 01 directed government “to monitor and check LGUs to ensure projects and programs of the government are properly implemented and delivered.”