DILG defends proposal to withhold 4P benefits
THE proposal of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to withhold a portion of the benefits of 4Ps beneficiaries under the Conditional Cash Transfer program is only one of several measures suggested to ramp up vaccination nationwide in order for our country to achieve 1 to 1.5 million jabs a day and reach herd immunity before the end of the year.
Based on latest data from the DSWD, only 12% of the 4.4 million 4Ps households nationwide have been vaccinated despite the various campaigns and interventions implemented by the government and the private sector, which includes town hall meetings and family development sessions (FDS) as well as incentives in the form of Bakuna Benefits (discounts for the vaccinated), Bakunado Panalo (raffle promos), as well as the use of influencers to convince more people to be vaccinated.
The DILG said the proposal has never been to delist or remove a 4Ps beneficiary from the program but merely to withhold a portion of the benefit – the health and nutrition grant – until such time that the individual has been vaccinated.
“The intention behind this proposal is sincere and clear: to boost the inoculation drive in order to rise above the COVID-19 nightmare and reach population protection as soon as possible. Nonetheless, we defer to the wisdom of the President if our suggested policy will be adopted or not,” according to the DILG.
The DILG also urged and challenged LGUs to adopt other creative ways to change the minds of their constituents, including the 4Ps beneficiaries, from hesitancy to vaccine acceptance and willingness. This may be in the form of new incentives such as food or rice packs, raffle bonanza for the inoculated population, and one-stop shops offering a smorgasbord of government services to include vaccination, among others.
