In Central Visayas, 82 face raps over cash aid mess

SUBSIDY Beneficiaries of the government’s cash aid wait for their turn to claim their money from a remittance center in Tondo, Manila. —LYN RILLON

CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines —A total of 82 people in Central Visayas, mostly barangay officials and workers, are facing charges in connection with irregularities in the distribution of the first tranche of cash aid under the government’s social amelioration program.

The police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in the region filed criminal complaints against 23 village chiefs, 13 barangay councilors, a Sangguniang Kabataan chair, three barangay secretaries, four barangay health workers, eight “purok” (subdistrict) leaders and four social workers for allegedly taking advantage of the cash payouts.

They were charged with violations of Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), Republic Act No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) and Republic Act No. 11469 (Bayanihan to Heal as One Act).

At least 26 civilians were also charged with perjury after receiving the cash aid although they were reportedly unqualified.

Favoritism

“We received numerous complaints against these people. Mostly, the accusations have something to do with favoritism. Accordingly, there are relatives of these officials and unqualified recipients who received the aid,” said Police Maj. Ronald Allan Tolosa, deputy chief of the regional CIDG.

In June, the CIDG filed charges against 57 people, also in Central Visayas, over the shady distribution of financial aid given by the government to poor households affected by the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

As of Tuesday, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) had paid P308.9 million to 51,493 families on “wait list,” or those who were not able to receive the first tranche of the cash aid in Central Visayas in May.

A total of 55,383 low-income households, on the other hand, had already received the second tranche of their assistance amounting to a total of P332.2 million.

Records showed that 585,376 low-income households in Cebu province were qualified for the second tranche, equivalent to about P3.5 billion.

Poor

The government, through RA 11469, had set aside P200 billion in emergency subsidy, ranging from P5,000 to P8,000, depending on prevailing regional minimum wage rates, to be given to 18 million low-income families for two months.

Its target beneficiaries are families belonging to either the poor or informal sector who had no means of income after the government imposed a lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The distribution was divided into two tranches to be allocated with P100 billion each. The first tranche of distribution started in April and ended in May.

On May 27, the DSWD said only 12 million households from the original 18 million beneficiaries would receive cash assistance in the second tranche.In Central Visayas, qualified households under the local governments of Cebu province and the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu can claim the second tranche of the emergency subsidy, amounting to P6,000.