SAP anomalies

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

If there is smoke, there is fire, an old cliché goes. The Dept. of Justice has directed all prosecution offices nationwide to give priority to resolution of complaints filed against barangay officials involved in anomalies in the distribution of cash aid under the government’s social amelioration program.

The DOJ through National Prosecution Service chief Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento made the order after complaints were filed before the DOJ against barangay officials. According to a Philippine Information Agency report, there are now 134 cases filed against barangay officials to date.

Apart from these complaints, the DOJ official said he expects more complaints will be filed against erring barangay officials.

Earlier the DOJ said the government is building up 110 cases against village officials allegedly involved in anomalies in the distribution of SAP case assistance to low-income households.

Malcontento said he expects similar cases would be filed before prosecution offices in the provinces.

             “(The) cases are all over the country not only here at main (office). I instructed all heads of offices all over the country to set these for preliminary investigation as soon as possible, to monitor (their) progress and report to us,” Malcontento said. “This would not just be one case. There would be many cases all over the country so it is up to every city prosecutor to schedule the hearings.”

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra had already given instructions to prioritize the holding of a preliminary investigation on the criminal charges filed against these suspected erring barangay officials.

“The DOJ is giving priority to the investigation of complaints against barangay and other local government officials for irregularities or fraudulent acts relative to the distribution of SAP cash aid because these cases take on a sinister and disgraceful character, considering that money intended for poor hungry people is unlawfully taken away from them,” Guevarra told newsmen.

As of May 17, the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) SAP monitoring report showed that 97 percent of the P100 billion SAP funds allocated for the first tranche of cash aid had been given to the beneficiaries from 17 regions.

More than 17.3 million beneficiaries have been served. The Palace said the sell-off of public properties would not be enough to boost funding for the social amelioration program.

According to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, President Duterte initially sought to sell one government asset to make sure all 23 million low-income households would receive the second tranche of cash aid.

The President, however, learned that the cost of the property was only about P20 billion, Roque said.

“That’s not even enough because we need even P50 billion more if we were to give first and second tranches to the 5 million additional beneficiaries,” he said in an interview with the ABS-CBN News Channel.

Under the national government’s SAP, beneficiaries are entitled to receive monthly emergency subsidies ranging from P5,000 to P8,000 for April and May.

The original number of SAP beneficiaries was 18 million, but it rose to 23 million after Duterte sought to give cash aid to 5 million more low-income families.

The 23 million poor families will receive the first tranche of emergency subsidies.

However, Malacañang earlier disclosed only 18 million families are qualified to benefit from the implementation of the second phase of the SAP.

The Palace also said the government needs to ask Congress for a P50 billion supplemental budget if it wants to extend financial assistance to all the 23 million SAP beneficiaries.

Roque said Duterte was once “dead serious” about selling state-owned properties to augment the funding for the implementation of the second phase of the SAP.

A legislator on Wednesday urged President Duterte to expand the social amelioration program that is allowable under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Law to include areas under general community quarantine (GCQ).

“He has the authority to do that. In fact, based on the statements of his spokesman former Congressman Harry Roque, the President wants five million more poor families to be given financial assistance,” said Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez told the media.

This means that the administration would want a total of 23 million families covered by SAP if there are enough funds, he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Majority Leader and Quezon City Rep. Precious Castelo reiterated her appeal to agencies and local government units implementing the government’s social amelioration program to come up with a more orderly way to distribute the cash aid this month.

Castelo said the concerned officials should have learned their lesson from the delivery of the funds in April.

“They should be able to come up with a more organized distribution system that follows physical distancing and other health and quarantine protocols for the protection of the beneficiaries themselves, their families, government personnel distributing the funds, and the public in general,” Castelo said.

Malacañang said Wednesday it expects beneficiaries of the social amelioration program to be less exposed to the risk of COVID-19 following the launch of the automated disbursement of cash aid from the national government.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the electronic transfer of cash aid would be more advantageous to indigent families.

In an interview with the morning show Unang Hirit, Roque said SAP recipients would be protected against Covid-19 since they no longer need to endure long queues just to get their monthly emergency subsidy.

“They can get the cash aid through their ATM without waiting in long queues. That’s better because the problem would get worse if they flock to a designated area just to get the cash aid,” he said.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on May 14 launched the web application “ReliefAgad” to hasten the distribution of financial assistance to poor Filipino families affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

                ***

Sen. Cynthia Villar had questioned the inclusion of the middle class sector in the government’s subsidy program amid COVID-19 pandemic.

Villar posed the question to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) during the hearing of the Committee of the Whole, which deliberated on the government’s overall strategies against COVID-19.

“I want to ask you di ba ang families natin in the Philippines is 22 million, ‘di ba? Sabi niyo 18 million ang bibigyan because they are poor but do you know that 15 percent of our people are [in the] upper-middle and then the rich, di ba? Yung 18 million is 82 percent. So bakit bibigyan ang middle?” Villar, a known businesswoman before her foray into politics, said.

She said Filipinos who belong to the middle class still receive their salaries, regardless if they work for a private company or for the government.            

“May trabaho sila, kahit lockdown, nagsu-sweldo sila. Sa gobyerno, kung employed by the government. Kung employed naman ng local, ng mga private, nagsu-sweldo din sila kaya nga nahihirapan ang mga companies kasi they have to pay for the salaries even if there’s no business,” she elaborated.

Under the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act, the government will provide a P5,000 to P8,000 subsidy for around 18 million poor families, depending on the regional minimum wage, for two months.

Villar also questioned the number of estimated poor families, arguing that the 2015 census showed that poor and the lower-income families only compose 59 percent of families in the country.

She pointed out that 18 million families that benefit from the government subsidy program compose 82 percent of the total number.

“Bakit tayo naging 82 percent? Bakit natin bibigyan yung may mga sweldo naman kahit lockdown nagse-sweldo sila. Yung upper middle and the rich. I want an explanation. You determine that,” she asked.

Answering on Bautista’s behalf, acting NEDA Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua explained to Villar that they have considered the population growth from 2015 to 2020 that’s why they came up with the 18 million families.

“The 2020 estimate is now 24.6 million. Of which, 18 million are considered to be low-income or basically working in the informal sector. No work, no pay, that is the basis for the 18 million,” Chua said.

Despite Chua’s answer, Villar still asked DSWD to submit an explanation in writing.

Villar was assailed on social media for her position the middle class shouldn’t be given amelioration with some saying even the middle class is suffering considering most of them are paying taxes unlike the poor who don’t.