House leaders are set to grill officials of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on four problem areas, including the slow distribution of cash aid to the poor, when Congress begins its investigation of its social amelioration program today (Monday).
Among the top problems is the 30-step process required, from the identification of qualified beneficiaries to the actual release of funds, that has delayed the distribution of aid, particularly during the lockdown imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19.
House Resolution No. 973, which calls for an investigation into the DSWD's delays in distributing assistance as mandated by the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, cited as a problem the requirement beneficiaries needed to fill up social amelioration cards that were “too long, tedious and intimidating” for them to accomplish.
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The resolution also said the DSWD acted arbitrarily when it based its “restrictive” master list of target recipients on the 2015 national census, causing discrepancies between national government data and those of local government units, which were more up to date.
The DSWD, the resolution added, failed to coordinate closely with local executives in the distribution of assistance.
The House committees on good government and public accountability and on public accounts will start the investigation Monday afternoon.
“Given the failure of DSWD officials to consider suggestions from both House leaders and LGU executives on how to hasten the process of accrediting beneficiaries and subsequently releasing the subsidies to them, the SAP had expectedly encountered speed bumps along the way, with the first tranche due in April received by recipient-households as late as last month,” said Deputy Speaker Luis Ray Villafuerte, one of the authors of the resolution.
“In fact, the SAP distribution has been so held up to the point that the DSWD started distributing the second tranche only in mid-June,” he added.
READ: Palace assures distribution of second cash aid
Meanwhile, Deputy Majority Leader and Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera urged the government to consistently maintain an updated database of the country’s poorest families for quick and effective distribution of financial aid to them during a crisis.
“We look forward to seeing a national database system of qualified beneficiaries of the emergency cash subsidy, particularly those who belong to poorest families, to ensure that the implementation of future programs of this kind will be smoother and more efficient,” she said.
Red tape, however, is only part of the problem.
Earlier this month, the police said it was investigating nearly 300 elected local officials for alleged anomalies in the distribution of the first tranche of the SAP.
The officials ranged from mayor down to Sangguniang Kabataan chairman, while 445 other people, including barangay secretaries, treasurers, purok leaders, and liaison officers were under investigation.
Among those being investigated was a municipal mayor in Eastern Visayas who allegedly did not transmit cash aid worth over P300,000 to a barangay chairman, who is the complainant.
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READ: DSWD: 22k ‘duplicate’ SAP beneficiaries