By Joseph Almer Pedrajas
A barangay administrator in Navotas City was discovered applying for Social Amelioration Program (SAP) although he knew he was not qualified.
Navotas Mayor Toby Tiangco in virtual presser on Wednesday said that they did not only discover that the barangay administrator filled up a Social Amelioration Card (SAC), which is allocated for affected residents, but also his wife.
Navotas City Mayor Toby Tiangco
(Toby Tiangco / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
“Barangay officials saka barangay employees, alam naman natin hindi sila qualified. Meron kaming nahuli na isang barangay administrator, ang ginawa nya, bukod sa nag-fill up sya na hindi naman na qualified, yung asawa nya pinag-fill up nya naman sa ibang barangay (We know that barangay officials and barangay employees are not qualified, but we were able to catch a barangay administrator who aside from filling-up a SAC form, also had his wife fill-up a SAC form in another barangay),” he said.
The barangay admin was identified as Honorato Vicente, who earned P4,000 monthly and claimed that he currently has no job. Meanwhile, his wife, who provided different address in her form, said she is earning P3,000 monthly, but is now under no-work-no-pay set-up.
Tiangco told the Manila Bulletin that they will "file the necessary cases after this is all over" as "every one in the city hall is busy now."
Aside from the couple, local government officials also caught several other residents submitting SAC forms twice.
"Meron kaming nakitang cases na mga taong nag-fifill-up ng form, magkahiwalay yung mag-asawa. Meron din kaming nakikitang nag-fifill-up ng form na ibang address ang ginagamit sa dalawang barangay. Yung iba naman, ina-under declare ang kanilang income (We have cases where couples submit SAC form in different barangays. We also have those who apply twice and provide different addresses. We also have those who under declare their income) ," he said.
But Tiangco noted that there are more honest residents who return their cash assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) after learning that they are not really qualified.
"Simula noong nag-warning ako, siguro mga 10 na ang nagbalik na nakakuha ng P8,000 at marami na ring nagbalik ng SAC form nila (Since I issued a warning, there are already about 10 individuals who returned their P8,000 cash aid and many also have turned their SAC forms)," he said.
Tiangco on Sunday announced that he would donate his entire salary until his term ends in June 2022, amounting to P3.2 million, to provide cash assistance to residents not covered by SAP. But he said, this is not yet enough.