DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo
Secretary Erwin Tulfo of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has ordered two Calabarzon regional officials removed from their posts following a complaint that additional requirements were being asked of persons seeking aid in the aftermath of Severe Tropical Storm “Paeng” (international name: Nalgae).
In a press conference on Thursday, Tulfo said he was acting on the concerns raised by Mayor Dino Chua of Noveleta, Cavite province, who said the DSWD regional office was requiring “many” documents from flood victims in his town before they could be given government assistance.
Ordered relieved of their posts were DSWD Calabarzon Regional Director Barry Chua and Assistant Regional Director Mylah Gatchalian. Tulfo clarified that the Noveleta mayor was not related to the sacked official.
The position of regional director was temporarily given to Marites Maristela, the assistant secretary for Luzon affairs.
According to Tulfo, the flood victims, as reported by the mayor, were being asked to produce a certificate of indigence, a barangay clearance and several identification cards before they could receive aid through the DSWD.
This was “in very (stark) contrast” to what President Marcos wanted, he said, which was to make the process easier especially for calamity victims.
Quoting the mayor, Tulfo said the flood victims could not immediately produce the documents since most of them were still in evacuation centers.
The relieved officials were temporarily placed under the Office of the Secretary.
“What I did was, since there is a pending investigation, I relieved them from their posts at our office in Region IV-A (Calabarzon) so there would be no influence on the probe we are conducting regarding this incident in Noveleta,” Tulfo said, adding:
“This investigation is (being done) to satisfy our fellow Filipinos in Noveleta and Mayor Chua, so that there would be no repeat of this incident in the future.” —Dempsey Reyes
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