Palace: No politics involved in Batangas barangays aid distribution

MANILA, Philippines —  The exclusion of at least 84 barangays from the cash aid distribution in Batangas last week was due to incomplete documentary requirements and not political reasons, as claimed by Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste, Malacañang said on Monday.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. led the distribution of P200,000 to 1,078 barangays in Batangas last Friday, during which he formally launched the “Sa Batangas, Bawat Bayan Makikinabang” program.

READ: Leviste hits exclusion of 84 Batangas barangays in aid distribution

“As far as we know, and what was told to us, there are barangays that did not complete their documents, and they cannot be immediately given aid if there are no documents, because this will become subject to a COA [Commission on Audit] report,” Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said in Filipino at a briefing.

“So, those barangays that were not able to submit, were not made to submit, or were forced not to submit documents, should not lose hope because the president said that every town would benefit, every barangay will benefit. There is no political color here. Everyone will be given assistance. So, if there are documents that you need to complete, please complete them all and do not be swayed by politics. All of you will receive aid,” she added.

Leviste claimed, however, that on the day of the distribution, some barangays were not invited and that one barangay chair was allegedly told by Batangas Liga ng Barangay President Fernando Rocafort that they were excluded from the program for political reasons.

Rocafort denied Leviste’s statement in a Facebook post on Sunday and called on provincial officials to spare barangay chiefs from politicking.

Rocafort said it was Leviste who allegedly threatened some barangay captains against attending the aid distribution event.

“If there are situations like this, it is not always necessary to hold a press conference or pass a resolution. What is needed is simply to talk and come to an agreement on what is lacking so that the people can benefit. As I said earlier, the main priority here is the people, not the politicians,” Castro said.

Leviste filed a resolution on April 24, urging the Office of the President to investigate reports of discrimination and corruption in the “Bawat Barangay Makikinabang” and “Bawat Bayan Makikinabang” programs.

The resolution also cited reports of alleged middlemen approaching local government units offering budgets from the Local Government Support Fund in exchange for commissions of up to 25%, highlighting the risk of corruption whenever there is discretion in the allocation of public funds. /gsg /atm