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Secretary Soliman, together with Undersecretary Austere Panadaero of DILG, poses in front of the media to send a message against politicians taking advantage of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. Joining them are parent leaders Melani Ocampo (Payatas, Quezon City), Maricel Soriano (Bagong Silang, Caloocan City), Angie Bongao (Commonwealth, Quezon City) and Jefferson Gaufo, DSWD NCR's Exemplary Child from Payatas, Quezon, City.
Secretary Soliman, together with Undersecretary Austere Panadaero of DILG, poses in front of the media to send a message against politicians taking advantage of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. Joining them are parent leaders Melani Ocampo (Payatas, Quezon City), Maricel Soriano (Bagong Silang, Caloocan City), Angie Bongao (Commonwealth, Quezon City) and Jefferson Gaufo, DSWD NCR’s Exemplary Child from Payatas, Quezon, City.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) asks “epals” to stop using the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program and its beneficiaries to gain political leverage. “DSWD shall continue to safeguard the rights and the welfare of the more than 3 million households who are enrolled in Pantawid Pamilya,” Soliman said.

In January, the DSWD initially launched the Bawal ang Epal Dito campaign through a forum with bloggers. This was later on followed by the major launch in Carcar City, Cebu.

The Bawal ang Epal Dito campaign aims to insulate the program from undue politicking. It is an education and information campaign that heightens the knowledge of the public on mechanics of the program. This campaign empowers the beneficiaries of their rights as individuals who are part of a program by the national government.

“Only DSWD has the right to add and delist beneficiaries of the program. It is our responsibility to make sure that the beneficiaries are well-informed and empowered so that they will not be easily deceived by people or individuals for political gains,” Soliman said.

“We have already established our Grievance Redress System where the public may report any kinds of abuses related to Pantawid Pamilya. The public may direct their complaints through our text hotline 09189122813. They can also use post their complaints through facebook: Tanggapan-ng-Reklamo or through twitter: https://twitter.com/4psreklamo to ensure that the voices of program beneficiaries are heard. We would also like to appeal to the media practitioners to join us in our campaign and be pipelines of accurate information,” she added.

The DSWD signed an agreement with the Department of Interior and the Local Government (DILG) who has an over-all jurisdiction over the Local Government Units. All complaints received will be processed and indorsed to proper authorities for appropriate action.

Pantawid Pamilya is a human development program that invests in the health and education of poor households primarily of children aged 0-14. As of 27 February 2012, Pantawid Pamilya covers 3,851,691 households from 17 regions, 79 Provinces, 143 Cities and 1,462 Municipalities.

Pantawid Pamilya is being implemented in partnership with the Department of Health (DoH), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Local Government Units (LGUs). ###