SOCIAL Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista on Tuesday urged ineligible households who were given cash aids under the government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP) to return the money they received lest they be charged along with local government officials who allowed the wrongful inclusion of families and individuals in the recipients’ list.
But Bautista, during the Laging Handa network briefing, said returning the money that the household received is not also a guarantee that they would be spared from a court suit.
“Kapag na-validate na hindi sila eligible, unang una kailangan ibalik nila ang pera… pero hindi rin sila, hindi ibig sabihin nakaligtas na sila sa criminal liability. Nandun na pwede silang ihabla para pasagutin sa hindi nila ginawa na tama (If it is validated that they are not eligible, first they should return the money… but it does not mean that they are spared from any criminal liability. They can still be charged and made to answer for their wrongdoing,” he said.
Bautista said erring local and barangay officials will be punished and administratively, criminally and civilly charged separately.
Bautista said the P5,000 to P8,000 SAP emergency subsidy is allocated for the estimated 18 million low- income families and indigent families with members that belong to the vulnerable sector.
PUBLIC DISCLOSURE
Bautista said he will comply with the suggestion of Senate President Vicente Sotto III that the DSWD post in its website the names and areas of beneficiaries that have already received their cash assistance.
He said he also supports the directive of Interior Secretary Eduardo Año for the local government units, up to the barangay level, to exhibit in public places the list of SAP beneficiaries.
Bautista said by making public the list, it not only promotes transparency, but also helps government to confirm if those who have received the aid are eligible or not.
He said a grievance mechanism to receive the complaints – from those who had not received the subsidy or those excluded from the SAP list to complaints about disqualified families — had been set up by the DSWD.
AID UPDATES
Bautista said as of 8 p.m. of April 20, the DSWD has already downloaded and released to LGUs an estimated P75.72 billion out of the P81 billion COVID-19 budget that had been given to them by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
He said this accounts for 93 percent of their COVID fund share for April and a separate budget would be released in May to fund the second tranche of the cash aid for next month.
Bautista said P7.355 billion had been released to 1.286 million non-4Ps families while P16.347 billion had benefited 3.721 million 4Ps beneficiaries. He said cash aid was also given to more than 40,000 drivers of public utility vehicles from Metro Manila.
OTHER AID
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the DSWD has distributed 445,580 family food packs (FFPs) nationwide, and still has 384,426 additional family food packs in its warehouses throughout the country. The food packs released by DSWD is separate from the relief packs that LGUs and barangays distribute to their constituents.
On the Small Business Subsidy Program of the Department of Finance, Nograles said 124,606 small businesses had been “prequalified” for the program, which seeks to provide a P5,000 to P8,000 subsidy to an estimated 3.4 million employees from 1.5 million small businesses nationwide.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture announced that it had already provided financial aid to 52,043 farmers under the Financial Subsidy for Farmers program and to 438,207 farmers under the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance program.
The DA said it is currently undertaking efforts to ensure a sufficient stock of rice until the end of June, which is equivalent to 18 million metric tons, which will be sufficient for 84 days. It likewise said the country has 1.95 million metric tons of chicken and 1.12 million metric tons of pork on stock which is sufficient for 62 days.
OWWA ASSISTANCE
The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in Central Luzon has already released over P1.6 million in cash assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, OWWA Regional Welfare Office Ill (OWWA RWO 3) said it has already released P1,660,000 to 166 stranded or displaced OFWs in Central Luzon under the DOLE-AKAP for OFWs program, a one-time cash assistance amounting to P10,000 which seeks to assist displaced land-based and sea-based OFWs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Qualified for the assistance are OFWs, who were either stranded in the Philippines or have experienced job displacement overseas.
“OWWA officially started accepting online applications last April 13, while the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) releases the financial assistance to approved applications of the workers,” said OWWA RWO 3.
On Monday, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) bared that they have already received some 30,000 applications for the program. The number of applicants is already 20 percent of the target recipients of 150,000 OFWs.
According to OWWA RWO 3, other qualified OFWs may still avail of the assistance by simply visiting the website http://dole-akap.owwa.gov.ph, fill-out the on-line form, and attach necessary documents needed. — With Gerard Naval
