MANILA, Philippines – The blogger who accused the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) of hoarding millions of pesos worth of donations to victims of storms “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” stood by her claim even after Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral denied that donated items were rotting in a warehouse.

In her latest post, blogger Ella Rose said she was only doing her part as a “concerned citizen.”

Rose, a book author who claims to have volunteered to work in the DSWD’s warehouse, wrote a blog entry last week denouncing the alleged slow distribution of relief goods. Her entry was re-posted by other online users and, on Friday, Cabral finally published a 781-word reply on the DSWD’s website.

On Saturday, a “deeply hurt” Cabral said she was waiting for the advice of the DSWD’s legal service on what action to take on the matter.

At a press conference, Cabral said she felt “very bad” about the blog entry because the staff working at the DSWD’s warehouses were “vilified.”

Cabral said the DSWD staff members “worked round the clock even now, making sure that the requests for relief goods are met in a timely manner.”

Fast inflow of goods

The DSWD received some P60 million worth of donations, of which goods worth P35 million had been distributed, Cabral said. If the DSWD’s warehouse where Rose volunteered was still packed with donations, it was because of the fast inflow of goods, not because of slow distribution, Cabral said.

Cabral said that in the last four weeks, the DSWD distributed 500,000 food packs and 200,000 clothing packs, inside which were rice apportioned from thousands of sacks, blankets, bedding and personal hygiene items.

She said that distribution peaked at 25,000 relief packs per day. About 10,000 packs were still being distributed daily at this time.

Cabral said some 31,000 families displaced in the aftermath of Ondoy and more than 3,000 families left homeless by Pepeng remained in evacuation centers. The remaining stockpile of relief goods could support these families for one more month, she said.

She said the DSWD would also use the donations for the recovery phase, which would take more than a year, making it necessary to plan the distribution of resources.

‘Trust not misplaced’

“Judicious use of resources at the outset is imperative lest we face the situation of even greater want after a period of relative plenty. We at the DSWD wish to assure you that your trust in us is not misplaced,” she said.

She said it would be best if those who still wanted to donate gave construction materials at this stage.

In her blog, Rose uploaded photos of imported blankets and mats donated by foreign agencies stored in the warehouse. The blogger said they were not being included in the relief packs she and fellow volunteers were asked to pack.

Burden of proof on DSWD

In her latest entry, which was in response to Cabral’s denials, Rose said: “The burden of proof is on you. The donors expect that everything they sent be distributed immediately to the intended recipients and not be stored in some warehouse.”

She clarified in an earlier blog entry that while she was not accusing the DSWD of corruption, Cabral, she said, “was showing signs of being totally incompetent.”

She added: “The relief goods are not moving. By the way things look, they are not going anywhere.”

Her blog entry can be read at http://www.ellaganda.com/?p=1759 while Cabral’s online statement is at http://ts.dswd.gov.ph/.