Late last week, the Senate ratified the final version of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, otherwise known as the “Bayanihan 2” bill outlining the government’s economic stimulus package. Its ratification by the House of Representatives is expected this week, after which it will be up for signing into law by President Duterte.
Under Republic Act No. 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act enacted by Congress on March 23 which expired after 90 days, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) was mandated to provide an emergency subsidy of P5,000 to P8,000 per month in April and May for each of the country’s 18 million households living below the poverty line that were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Around P205 billion was allocated by the “Bayanihan 1” law for the first and second tranches of this social amelioration program, also known as SAP 1 and SAP 2. Local government units (LGUs) were tasked to distribute the so-called “ayuda” or cash grants to low-income families based on a master list of qualified beneficiaries that all LGUs were required to submit to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
But sad to say, officials of both DILG and DSWD have reportedly been deluged with complaints from irate citizens regarding the brazen attempts by LGUs to divert portions of the SAP grants through various schemes. According to the DSWD, the failure of some LGUs to liquidate SAP 1 disbursements was among the reasons why the distribution of SAP 2 to 14.1 million target households in June and July has been facing delays.
Over the weekend, DILG Secretary Eduardo Año announced that 203 elected public officials have been charged for alleged anomalies in the payout of SAP 1. Criminal cases were filed before various prosecutors of the Department of Justice against one municipal mayor and an assortment of city/municipal councilors, barangay captains/kagawads, and even Sanggunian Kabataan or youth council chairs/councilors.
Some congressmen expressed surprised that the name of Iriga City Mayor Madelaine Alfelor was not on the list. At a recent public hearing conducted by the House committee on good government and public accountability chaired by Rep. Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado, Alfelor was accused by Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte of distributing SAP funds to unqualified individuals while leaving out deserving Irigueño beneficiaries.
As an example, Villafuerte pointed out five SAP recipients of P5,000 each who are employees of the University of Northeastern Philippines (UNEP), which he claimed is owned by the mayor’s family. All five are not residents of Iriga City, and two of them stated in sworn affidavits that they received the cash aid from the mayor but decided to return the money to DSWD because they realized they were not qualified constituents. Their testimonies were corroborated by barangay captain Renato Monedero, who said the names of the UNEP employees were listed to make it appear they received the SAP grants in the barangay when these were actually distributed to them inside the university campus.
Another barangay captain, Rodolfo Pungtan, wrote a letter to the President complaining about being excluded from the distribution of social amelioration cards along with other village officials identified by the mayor as her political opponents. Other stories surfaced about affluent citizens receiving SAP grants, whereas qualified constituents were omitted from the list of intended beneficiaries. Copies of their affidavits have been sent to DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista and the regional Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in Bicol.
Alfelor denied the allegations during the panel hearing, claiming she had no knowledge of the violations because she was not the one who approved the SAP payout list. “All funds were given and successfully distributed to all the qualified Irigueños and were liquidated with the DSWD. All the beneficiaries who received the cash grant and were validated and verified as part of the 18 million low-income families,” she declared.
Bautista, who was present at the hearing, made it clear that under the DSWD’s guidelines, LGUs have the final say as to who can receive the emergency subsidies. He and Año now have their work cut out for them after the congressional investigation opened a Pandora’s box filled with SAP irregularities that are more than just a whiff of corruption.