KORONADAL CITY — The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office No. XII (DSWD FO XII) disclosed Friday its financial allocation this year, a senior agency official said, citing the bulk of money will go to in need poor families covered by the state’s social services.

Cezario Joel Espejo, regional director, said the budget approved by the Central Office will be utilized until December.

He said of the P8.1 Billion allocation, P5.9 Billion will be used to cover the monthly grants of beneficiaries under Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program while P122.2 Million for Sustainable Livelihood Program, two of the agency’s measures that aims to alleviate the standard of living of poor individuals across the region.

The 4Ps, a program that President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Republic Act (RA) No. 11310, which institutionalized the 4Ps being implemented by the DSWD, provides cash grants to poor families for their children’s health and education needs.

The SLP, on the other hand, is a community-based capacity-building where the agency provides start-up seed capital for beneficiaries livelihood projects.

“It’s part of our financial transparency…part of our several steps in efforts to shun corruption,” Dir. Espejo said.

“We assure the public that we will not tolerate our workers to exploit our financial allocation for illicit purposes,” he added.

Mohammad Fayed Sarip, the agency’s budget officer, said this year’s funding also include P 1.6 Billion for Social Pension Program, a measure under Republic Act (RA) No. 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010 where indigent senior citizens could receive a monthly stipend worth P500 from the state.

Moreover, P186.4 Million was allocated for Supplementary Feeding Program, another flagship intervention where the agency, in partnership with local government units, provides hot meals to children five days a week for 120 days. (JBM / DSWD)