DILG Usec. Martin Diño. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Interior Undersecretary Martin Diño on Tuesday warned local officials of jail time if there are irregularities found in the delivery of the assistance intended for those affected by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) lockdown.
“Siguro ang matinding babala ngayon, hindi lang po namin kayo ipatatanggal, ang gusto ni Presidente ipakulong na kayo, ‘yung mga gagawa ng mga pamimili. Pagkatapos yung iba, kokotongan pa ‘yung mga nabigyan, ‘yung iba hahatihatiin,” Diño said in an interview over Teleradyo.
(The stern warning now is, we will not only remove you from your post. The President [Rodrigo Duterte] wants you to be imprisoned. Some of them have been choosing [who will be given aid], some will cut off, getting a piece of the amount given, some will divide the aid.)
He was asked regarding previous issues involving barangay captains, who have supposedly been choosing allies and relatives as beneficiaries of assistance under the social amelioration program (SAP) in 2020.
“Inuulit namin dahil baka ayan pa ang ikatanggal niyo sa pwesto niyo o ikakulong niyo na ngayon. So maliwanag at malutong yung sabi ni President ngayon, ‘yung bilin niya magmula sa mayor hanggang sa mga barangay captain,” he added.
(We are reiterating this because this may become a reason for you to be removed from your post or get imprisoned. The President said it clearly, his instructions [to imprison corrupt] mayors down to the barangay captains.
Last year, over 80 barangay captains were suspended for six months over anomalies in the distribution SAP aid.
With Metro Manila and four nearby provinces placed under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) anew, the government will be providing a P1,000-aid per person but not more than P4,000 for each household to those affected.
It would be up to the local government unit (LGU) if they would distribute the aid in cash of in-kind.
According to Diño, cash assistance should be distributed within 15 days while the in-kind aid shall be given within 30 days.
He said recipients of the cash aid in each barangay will be provided with a stub bearing the time and date of when they would be able to claim the assistance. Meanwhile, barangay officials will conduct house-to-house distribution for in-kind aid. – Liezelle Soriano Roy, INQUIRER.net trainee
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