The Department of Social Welfare and Development is preparing itself for the upcoming Barangay Elections in October through the “Bawal ang Epal Dito” Campaign.

Its “Bawal Ang Epal Dito” Campaign has been proven effective in empowering the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, particularly during the midterm elections last May 2013.

In the campaign, beneficiaries were thoroughly informed that the anti-poverty program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development is developed, initiated, and implemented by the said agency and that the latter can solely de-list beneficiaries based on their non-compliance to the program’s set conditions.

Contrary to some politicians’ alleged pronouncement that they can de-list beneficiaries if they will not vote for the running candidate, the DSWD is emphatic that no politicians can do so since the agency alone, at the regional and national levels, can de-list the beneficiaries from the program.

With the coming barangay elections, it is once again empowering the Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries to be vigilant of any political threats of being de-listed and be responsible in complying to the conditions of the program: to ensure attendance of their children to school, to regularly bring them to a monthly health check-up, and attend in the Family Development Sessions conducted by the DSWD.

The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program invests in human capital by providing cash grants to poor families with children aged 0-14 for their education and health.