Ombudsman starts fact-finding probe on DOLE’s TUPAD program in QC

FILE PHOTO: The Office of the Ombudsman. INQUIRER/NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday said it has started a fact-finding investigation on alleged anomalies in the implementation of the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) emergency cash-for-work program in Quezon City.

The investigation is being conducted motu proprio, the Ombudsman explained in a statement. This means the agency initiated the probe on its own or without an outside party filing a complaint.

“As an independent constitutional body, the Ombudsman continues to conduct in-depth investigations on alleged anomalies especially those committed in these trying times of the pandemic,” Ombudsman Samuel R. Martires said.

DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) is a community-based assistance program for displaced, unemployed, and seasonal workers impacted by the lockdowns brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But reports of corruption surfaced with some beneficiaries complaining about receiving less than the P7,518 pay they were supposed to get, prompting DOLE to suspend the TUPAD program in Quezon City and launch its own investigation.

READ: Belmonte backs probe of aid program over incomplete amounts given in QC

The Ombudsman said its fact-finding investigation will focus on the following: implementation of the emergency employment program in Quezon City, including the distribution of wages with illegal deductions reportedly funneled to congressional staff members or barangay officials; collection of “processing fees” from the wages of aid recipients; and government officials taking advantage of the TUPAD program, among others.

Good move

Director Rolly Francia of the DOLE Information and Publication Service welcomed the Ombudsman investigation and called it a “good move to pin down public officials involved.”

“We are really sorry that it happened but with this investigation by the Ombudsman, it is a good move of course to pin down, if ever there are public officials involved,” Francia said in a statement.

“The Ombudsman is on the right track. I think that’s the track of the Ombudsman, to look into the possible complicity of some people in government,” he added.

Francia said this is the same case that DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III ordered to investigate in 2020.

“The case is with the NBI, to look deeper into the complaints on the program implementation,” he said.

“The NBI already has sufficient information and is now up to them to file charges against those whom the agency deemed responsible for the wrongdoings in the implementation of the program,” he added.

Also, the Ombudsman said it will investigate the suspension of the TUPAD program in a district in Palawan.

The DOLE in October last year deferred the implementation of its TUPAD program in Palawan’s second district over allegations that beneficiaries ended up receiving only P1,200 for 10 days of work even if they are entitled to get P3,200.

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