DSWD intensifies "Bawal ang Epal Dito" this March

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) launched a massive awareness campaign to dissociate the national government’s flagship conditional cash transfer program from the ongoing political exercises.

It's been a long time since I last attended a blog-con that concerns about the government. Usually my topic on my blog are about entertainment/lifestyle or about medical/health and this time, not politics but social welfare. What makes me go and very much concerned on this event is the 'anti-epal' launch which I trully support online.

Anyways, "Bawal ang Epal Dito" is a nationwide campaign in March that aims to protect the government’s conditional cash transfer program from being used by local candidates for their political campaign. Epal is short for “mapapel” or people desperately trying to do everything just to be recognized. Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago had filed Senate Bill 1967 or the anti-epal bill, which seeks to prohibit public officials from claiming credit through sign age announcing public works and other government projects.

On Bloggers chit-chat, we met a very calm Sec. Corazon 'Dinky' Soliman. She briefly explained about the 4Ps to us and how they came up with the list up to its termination. The 4Ps is a social protection strategy that invests in the health and education of poor children aged 0 to 14. As of Jan. 9, there are a total of 3,843,502 beneficiaries in 79 provinces nationwide. A total of 280,000 households are expected to graduate from the program in December this year. Sec. Dinky stressed that the beneficiaries should know their rights and to be vigilant of individuals or groups who plan to use the program for their personal gain by resorting to baseless threats to beneficiaries of the said program. She added that the campaign aims to empower the public especially the beneficiaries, by increasing their knowledge about the program mechanics and the methods of selection and removal from the program. She also said that through the DSWD’s Grievance and Redress System, beneficiaries continuously give feedback that politicians are allegedly claiming to have authority to enlist and remove them from the program.

Aside from online campaigns, DSWD would soon come out with infomercials on television and radio. It will also have tarpaulins and flyers that will be distributed to areas where there are 4Ps beneficiaries.

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