By Joseph B.A. Marzan
The Department of Social Welfare and Development-Region 6 (DSWD-6) has welcomed the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) move to investigate alleged anomalies in the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).
Lieutenant Colonel Gervacio Jr. Balmaceda, Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDG-6) chief, first urged the public to formalize complaints against local executives who allegedly corrupted the distribution of SAP grants.
Police Regional Office (PRO)-6 chief, Police Brigadier Rene Pamuspusan also said that the PNP has been directed to investigate anomalies and irregularities committed by barangay officials in the SAP distribution.
The SAP is an emergency subsidy program (ESP) of the DSWD to assist qualified low-income families in response to the effects of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.
Under the SAP, families in the informal sector, including those in the vulnerable sectors such as Senior Citizens, Persons with Disabilities, and Indigenous People, will receive a cash grant from P5,000 to P8,000.
In an interview with Aksyon Radyo Iloilo on May 9, DSWD-6 spokesperson May Castillo confirmed that the agency has received 4,557 complaints on the SAP distribution.
Castillo said that while the DSWD did not make any arrangement with the two law enforcement groups, it welcomes their intervention on the matter.
She added that the DSWD also has hotlines that are available 24 hours a day and seven days a week to receive questions and complaints.
“We haven’t had any clear institutional arrangements on the matter, but we welcome the move. We have a DSWD grievance team, and at the same time, the DSWD has 24/7 hotlines to answer questions and complaints from the people,” Castillo said.
‘FOCUSED’
In a radio interview, Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Gorero, PRO-6 Regional Plans and Strategy Management Division chief, affirmed that the police are focused on alleged corrupt and anomalous activities regarding the SAP.
Gorero cited some examples of the anomalies that may be punishable under law.
“The best example for this is first, the guidelines given the [PNP] national office as to how much is the maximum value [for SAP grants]. There are activities such as giving the grant less than what was indicated, giving the money in exchange for a bribe, giving the money to the wrong recipient, and giving the money to another family member while the intended recipient was not there,” Gorero said.
He said that while it does not disregard complaints sent through other channels like text messaging, it would be better if they secure a complaint-affidavit.
He added that residents may approach their nearest police officer or police station, but they must be willing to testify on the alleged anomalies.
“Even if [the people] are very much eager to complain, it will not be resolved only through texting. Somebody has to execute an affidavit so we can file the proper charges against barangay officials and elected officials on allegations, particularly on the distribution of the [SAP]. This is now the proper time for them to say if their allegations are true, but the appeal from the police is that we must ask for their testimonial complaint, otherwise we cannot prosecute in the absence of their testimony,” he said.
