ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Beneficiary getting only P1,500 of P10,000 cash aid an isolated case but DSWD to file complaints—Gatchalian

Beneficiary getting only P1,500 of P10,000 cash aid an isolated case but DSWD to file complaints—Gatchalian

Published Jun 10, 2024 06:02 am

Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the case of a beneficiary, who was supposed to get P10,000 cash aid from the government but was only given P1,500 by their barangay officials, was an isolated incident.

Screenshot 2024-06-06 143241.png
File photo (RTVM Screenshot)

However, despite it being isolated, Gatchalian said they are taking the incident "very seriously," baring that they will file complaints against the barangay officials involved.

"Una, gusto kong linawin na itong kasong 'to ay isolated siya. Sa dami natin na nadi-distribute-an, meron isa o dalawa na sa hindi inaasahang pagkakataon, may mga masasamang loob na talagang sinasamantala yung mga beneficiaries pero isolated case siya (First, we want to clarify that this was an isolated case. Of all the places where we distribute, there are one or two instances that there are erring individuals who take advantage of our beneficiaries but this is an isolated case)," Gatchalian said in an interview on the sidelines of distribution of government assistance in Isabela.

"Pero (But) despite it being isolated, we take it very seriously," he added.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) chief disclosed that the barangay officials only gave the El Niño-hit beneficiary P1,500 of the supposed P10,000 aid as they will be giving the remaining P8,500 to other individuals in their barangay who need it.

"Ang rason daw ng barangay official para maparte parte at maibigay sa mas maraming tao (The reason of the barangay official was in order to part it and give it to more people)," Gatchalian said.

The secretary also said that the incident did not happen inside the payout center of the DSWD but at the barangay hall.

Gatchalian stressed that parting the government aid to re-distribute it to more people is not purpose of the program as it is given to struggling beneficiaries to aid them get back on their feet after suffering from the impacts of El Niño or any disaster.

He also pointed out that nobody has the right, whether it's an elected official, barangay official, or appointed official, to divide the cash assistance for more beneficiaries. 
 
"So yung ginawa ng barangay official bawal yun kasi pinirmahan na  ng beneficiary na natanggap niya nang buo (So what the barangay official did was not allowed because the beneficiary has already signed that she received the entire financial assistance)," Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian also disclosed that the DSWD will file administrative and criminal complaints together with the beneficiary against the barangay officials.

He issued a warning to individuals who would attempt to take advantage of the beneficiaries, saying nobody has the right to deduct any amount from the financial aid given by the DSWD to beneficiaries.

He also reminded the beneficiaries that they are not obligated to give a portion of their "ayuda" to anybody.

"'Pag may lumapit sa inyo at sabihin na kukunin  nila yung portion ng binigay namin, wag kayong pumayag. Hindi kayo obligado na magbigay kahit kanino, para sa inyo 'yang ayuda na yan (If someone approached you and get a portion of what we gave you, do not agree with them. You are not obligated to anyone, the assistance is intended for you)," Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian urged the beneficiaries to promptly report any similar incident to them like what the victim did, whose experience has gone viral on social media over the weekend. 

Related Tags

Rex Gatchalian AYUDA Cash aid DSWD
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.