In compliance with the order of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), LandBank of the Philippines and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) began replacing old cash cards of Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries with EMV chip-enabled cards.

A total of 21,759 EMV-activated cash cards are ready to be distributed to the beneficiaries in Zamboanga City. As of August 29, DSWD had already replaced the cash cards of beneficiaries in Barangay Tulungatung, Cawit, Talisayan, La Paz, and Maasin.

“We are constantly coordinating with LandBank and now working on the schedules of old cash cards replacement. We have already set schedules for the 21,759 cards to be replaced in Zamboanga City while the rest of the provinces in Zamboanga Peninsula are currently being processed,” Flordeliza A. Atuy, Regional Program Coordinator of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino said.

The replacement of cash cards was pilot tested in the municipality of Buug, Zamboanga Sibugay last May this year. It was followed by Basilan where currently all beneficiaries under the regular conditional cash transfer program already hold EMV-activated cards.

Old cash cards for replacement are to be surrendered back to LandBank and will automatically be deactivated.

Pantawid Pamilya protects the welfare of its beneficiaries hence the replacement of old cash cards. Cards with EMV chips are deemed more secure than the traditional magnetic stripe payment cards.

Pantawid Pamilya is a social protection program of the national government that invests in the health and education of poor households primarily of children aged 0-18 and pregnant women. Program beneficiaries receive cash grants as they comply with the program conditions applicable to their households. The conditions are: pregnant women must avail pre and post-natal care and be attended during childbirth by a trained health professional; parents must attend Family Development Sessions (FDS); 0-5 years old children must receive regular preventive health check-ups and vaccines; 6-14 years old children must receive deworming pills twice a year; and children beneficiaries (0-18 years old) must enroll in school and maintain a class attendance of at least 85% per month. As of May 2018, there are 4.39 million active households in the program nationwide.