Año orders PNP to look into COVID-19 cash aid irregularities

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Eduardo Año on Tuesday directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to investigate alleged irregularities in the distribution of cash aid from the social amelioration program (SAP) to poor families that had lost their livelihood during the lockdown due to the new coronavirus outbreak.

Año also requested help from the National Bureau of Investigation after one village official allegedly withheld the full amount of P6,500 in aid for beneficiaries at Barangay San Agustin in Hagonoy, Bulacan province.

“Greedy and corrupt officials should have no place in the government. They are carriers of a malignant virus that destroys the trust the people gave to them,” he said.

Barangay Councilor Danilo Flores was caught on video telling beneficiaries that each family would receive only P3,000 as the remaining P3,500 would be given to Hagonoy Mayor Raulito Manlapaz for distribution to nonbeneficiaries.

Manlapaz denied his claim and sued Flores for oral defamation for linking him to the deal.

Viral video

The video went viral after it was uploaded on April 27 by a certain Lhon Villamayor Perez on Facebook and the police arrested Flores on Saturday.

Col. Roginald Francisco, police chief of Hagonoy, said graft charges were filed against Flores on Monday. Administrative charges were also expected to be filed against him at the Office of the Ombudsman.

Aid beneficiaries in San Agustin said they were not informed about how the amount deducted from the cash grant would be spent.

But Flores said he and the recipients had an agreement that part of the aid would be given to those who did not qualify for the financial assistance.

Gov. Daniel Fernando ordered a separate investigation.

A similar case is now being looked into by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Isabela province.

Villagers in Cabatuan town complained to the Inquirer last month that they were given only P2,750 instead of P5,500. They were allegedly made to sign papers indicating that they had received the full amount, but were told that they were sharing their grants with those who were not on the DSWD list of beneficiaries.

President Rodrigo Duterte late on Monday night unleashed a profanity-laden rebuke against the 66-year-old Hagonoy village councilor and offered a P30,000 reward to anyone who would report local officials stealing or corrupting the financial aid.

“They are poor. You have a job as a councilor, and yet you get the money meant for the poor,” he said.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday said the public could submit complaints to the government corruption hotline 8888.

The complaint, however, must be backed by evidence, Roque said, adding: “It’s not enough to accuse someone.”

Aid to 5M more families

The President also ordered mayors to verify and validate that the money was distributed properly by local officials.

On Monday, he said an additional 5 million families would be given cash aid during the national health emergency caused by the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The aid funds were initially intended for 18 million poor families, who were to receive between P5,000 and P8,000 monthly in April and May, depending on the wage rates of the region where they resided.

The DSWD reported on Tuesday that it had distributed P68 million of the first tranche of P100 million to 12.5 million beneficiaries. They included 3.7 million of the 4.2 million under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the government’s flagship antipoverty program.

Asked why only that much money had been given so far, Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista said: “There are many reasons, some areas are far-flung, especially island municipalities and other isolated areas. There are also high-risk areas with high incidence of COVID-19, as well as security situations in areas plagued by the NPA (New People’s Army).”

—WITH REPORTS FROM JULIE M. AURELIO AND PATRICIA DENISE M. CHIU, CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE AND VILLAMOR VISAYA JR.