Gone are the days when beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) would use their cash card as a collateral for loan and other indebtedness.
On Tuesday, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Albay (SPA), during its 78th Regular Session, introduced the measure which will soon be named as “4Ps Anti-Pawning Ordinance of the Province of Albay” for 1st Reading.
Authored by Board Member Vicente Baltazar III and Board Member Raul Rosal, the ordinance entitled “An Ordinance Prohibiting the Use of Cash Cards Issued to the Beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) as Collateral of Loan and Providing Penalties Thereto” seeks to rectify the inappropriate use of the allocated cash assistance.
The introduction of this ordinance underscores the proactive stance of the legislative board to address the potential challenges against the measure, ensure the well-being of the Albayano beneficiaries enrolled in the 4Ps and guard them against loan sharks pestering on their hapless victims.
Board Member Victor Ziga, Jr., chairperson of the Committee on Health and Social Services, said that a committee hearing would be conducted for the immediate passage of the said ordinance for the benefit of the recipients.
The 4Ps, spearheaded by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), stands as a human development initiative by the national government, designed to extend conditional cash grants to the most economically disadvantaged households, with the primary goal of enhancing the health, nutrition, and education of children aged 0-18.
(Source: Albay PIO)