The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office V Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program assures affected beneficiaries of Batan Island, Rapu-Rapu Albay will receive their cash assistance due to the robbery incident last night (January 26, 2016).

According to Regional Director Arnel B. Garcia, total of P3.4 Million cash was taken by the robbers which are intended to be released to a total of 1,350 families out the 2,816 identified beneficiaries in Rapu –Rapu, Albay.

He added that for the meantime, the conduct of pay-out to affected beneficiaries will be delayed but they should not panic since the Department is doing its best and coordinated closely with the service providers and the local government unit of Rapu-Rapu for the investigation of the incident.

According to the initial reports from DSWD field staff assigned in the area, two unidentified men at around 11:00 in the evening, broke into the rented apartment of the staff of St. Anthony Development Cooperatives—the local conduit that had the money intended for the next day’s pay out.

The pay-out is a bi-monthly activity being conducted to Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries for them to receive the cash grants.

Under Pantawid Pamilya, beneficiaries receive cash grants for health amounting to P500 per household every month. And for education grant amounting to P300 for elementary or P500 for high school per child every month for ten months (a household may register a maximum of three children for the program).

For a household with three children in elementary, a household may receive P1,400 every month and for a household with three children in high school, a household may receive P2,000 every month.

These cash grants are distributed to the household-beneficiaries through the Land Bank of the Philippines or, if not feasible, through alternate payment schemes such as National Confederation of Cooperatives and rural bank transactions.

As of January 13, 2016, a total of 4.482B cash grants were paid to eligible and compliant beneficiaries for five periods covering November 2014 to September 2015 disbursements for the total of 373, 890 beneficiaries in Bicol Region.***Glorei Lindio, Information Officer Pantawid Pamilya