Poor need solons’ OK for fund aid

CEBU CITY—The social welfare department in Central Visayas gave assurances that the public funds that it releases to beneficiaries and credits to congressmen’s pork are well spent because the process of releasing the money is “tedious” and starts with the poor pleading for help from legislators.

Patricia Remolador, budget officer of the regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), said public money credited to the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or pork, of legislators that goes to the DSWD for the poor is meant as aid for “individuals in crisis situations.”

Mercedita Jabagat, regional DSWD director, said in a press briefing here that her office could account for every single centavo of public funds, which took the form of pork, that the regional DSWD has released and will release to beneficiaries. This is so, she said, because the process is tedious.

That the process is tedious is highlighted by beneficiaries being required to get referrals from legislators first before they could get financial aid, which ranges from P5,000 to P25,000 in checks.

Protesters demanding the abolition of the pork barrel system said it is being used for patronage by politicians.

According to Remolador, there are instances when the poor write directly to legislators and request for money. Requests that are approved by the legislators are processed by the regional DSWD for release of funds to beneficiaries.

Regional DSWD chief Jabagat said that as of Sept. 20, the total amount of public funds released by her office as pork of legislators to the poor is more than P23 million. Last year, it was more than P26 million.

According to Jabagat, at least 23 legislators approved the use of public funds, credited as their pork, as financial aid to the poor in the region.

Among them are Cutie del Mar (Cebu City, north district), Pablo Garcia (Cebu, second district), Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City, south district), Benhur Salimbangon (Cebu, fourth district), Red Durano (Cebu, fifth district), Luigi Quisumbing (Cebu, sixth district), Arturo Radaza (lone district, Lapu-Lapu City), Arthur Yap (Bohol, third district), Rene Relampagos (Bohol, first district), Jocelyn Limkaichong (Negros Oriental, first district) and George Arnaiz (Negros Oriental, first district).

Public funds credited to the pork of these legislators, according to the regional DSWD officials, were given to the poor who requested for money for burial, medical treatment or tuition. Some of the funds were spent on items under the general label “financial assistance.”

Nemia Antipala, assistant DSWD regional director, said the regional social welfare office keeps a separate book of accounts for releases of public funds credited as pork barrel. “No fund gets out of DSWD unless it follows our guidelines,” Antipala said in the same press briefing.

Reports on how the funds are used are given the legislators, she said.

DSWD regional chief Jabagat, in a statement distributed during the briefing, said the regional DSWD office has accredited the second highest number of nongovernment organizations (NGOs) next to the DSWD main office in Manila.

Jabagat said a total of 160 NGOs had been accredited in the region. At least 114 of these are from Cebu.

The regional DSWD officials held the press briefing in the wake of public outrage over the plunder of billions of pesos of public funds in a conspiracy pulled off allegedly by Janet Lim-Napoles, senators, congressmen and bogus NGOs.

Jabagat said the DSWD requires NGOs to first secure certificates of registration from the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Cooperative Development Authority before they are accredited.

NGOs are also required to submit annual accomplishment reports and audited financial reports for the last two years to show their capability to sustain operations, according to Jabagat.

She said DSWD teams visit the NGOs in their listed addresses to make sure they are not fictitious.

“The DSWD has stringent processes to ensure that the NGOs are not bogus or fly-by-night,” Jabagat said.