Government readies 2011 cash transfer program

THE GOVERNMENT has started preparations for next year’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program by forming a task force to ensure effective implementation, a Palace spokesman said yesterday.

The task force is composed of representatives of the departments of Health (DoH), Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Deputy Spokesperson Abigail D. Valte said in an interview in Malacañan Palace.

“[The task force was created] since you need closer coordination from DILG for the beneficiaries and the DoH because of the health component of the CCT [such as] vaccination, prenatal care. The implementation overlaps; that’s why it can also be monitored by other agencies,” she said.

The Senate last Wednesday passed the P1.645-trillion national budget for next year with the allocation for CCT intact. Some lawmakers had questioned the near-doubling of the fund to P21.9 billion from P12 billion, arguing that the program lacked safeguards on the use of the money.

Ms. Valte said that, besides implementing agencies being able to cross-check each other’s use of the fund, another safeguard is a review and cleansing of the list of CCT beneficiaries to make sure only qualified households are covered.

“From the assessment of DSWD, there were those included in the list but have not met the criteria,” she said. — A. M. G. Roa, Businessworld