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Friday, March 29, 2024

Prolong aid sked, LGUs ask

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The Department of the Interior and Local Government said Friday at least 23 local governments in the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus – which includes Rizal, Bulacan, Laguna, and Cavite—have requested to extend the deadline for the distribution of cash assistance.

DILG spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya told GMA News Online that three of these local government units were from Metro Manila, two from Rizal, two from Laguna, two from Cavite, and 14 from Bulacan.

Based on the guidelines issued by the DILG, LGUs were directed to determine through an executive order the ways of releasing the cash aid to residents within 15 calendar days upon receipt of the funds.

Due to the rising COVID-19 cases, the government earlier placed NCR Plus under enhanced community quarantine. The restrictions have since been downgraded to a modified ECQ.

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Meanwhile, a party-list legislator disclosed massive irregularities in the distribution of the cash aid during the newly-reimposed total lockdown.

Rep. Jericho Nograles, the nominee of Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta party-list group, said persons who were already dead, minors, and those already living abroad were among the 22.9 million listed as beneficiaries in the latest round of the government’s cash amelioration program for areas in the so-called NCR Plus that were placed under ECQ.

As an example, Nograles said that in Barangay 44, Pasay City, a person who had been dead since last August, minors not qualified as beneficiaries, and a former house help now living in Mindanao were listed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development as cash aid recipients.

“My office received inquiries and reports on questionable beneficiaries. This comes as no surprise, but clearly, the DSWD and the COA (Commission on Audit) should look into this,” Nograles said.

In Cainta, Rizal, Nograles said, “a person who lives and works in Qatar was also listed as a recipient.”

Another senior, who lives in Brookside Hills subdivision of Cainta, could not get any cash assistance during the distribution Thursday at the Ynares covered court since his name was not among those in the list of recipients listed down by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Nograles said these cases might indicate a sample of thousands more of unqualified people on the DSWD’s amelioration list.

“In that barangay in Pasay City for example, some people were surprisingly included on the new list, despite the fact that they are minors. We all know minors should not be on the list,” Nograles said.

“In that same barangay, a kasambahay who had already left for Mindanao was still listed, and, in contrast, another kasambahay who is still a resident in the area had been delisted. It is easy to suspect and surmise, but it is the duty of the government to find out why and how did this happen,” he added.

Because of these alleged irregularities, Nograles urged the DSWD and the Department of the Interior and Local Government to investigate the matter as he stressed, “every centavo in the P22.9 billion amelioration fund must be fully accounted for and the people who abused it must be punished.”

“If a congressman like men received such information that are even documented, what more on those in charge of distributing the amelioration fund on the national level. They should act on the matter even without any formal complaint. President Duterte made it very clear that they should look into these allegations of misappropriations of the amelioration fund,” Nograles added.

He stressed that government officials found to be deliberately falsifying the list would face trouble with the Ombudsman.

“I hope DSWD can defend the listing because Technical Malversation and Malversation of Public Funds is a serious crime that must be reported.”

In a related development, the Department of Labor and Employment is eyeing to finish distributing P3 billion worth of financial assistance to over 600,000 tourism workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, a DOLE official said Friday.

Assistant Secretary Dominique Rubia-Tutay made the announcement during the Laging Handa briefing, saying that around 250,000 workers under the tourism sector already received such assistance amounting to P1.26 billion.

The financial assistance is worth P5,000 per individual.

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