23 barangay execs face raps over SAP

[Jollygoodfellow]

23 barangay execs face raps over SAP
110 others under investigation; DOJ to prioritize cases against village officials

..........................................

Seems they are cracking down on the old ways of doing things. 

Spoiler

Twenty-three barangay officials are now facing criminal charges for cash aid-related anomalies under the social amelioration program (SAP) after the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) filed cases against them before the prosecutor’s office of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo M. Año said on Monday that the PNP has already filed 12 criminal cases against 23 barangay officials with four more cases due to be filed in the next few days.

With this development, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he will order prosecutors to prioritize the cases filed against barangay officials who are allegedly involved in anomalies concerning the distribution of emergency subsidy under the government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP).

“I will direct our prosecutors to give priority attention to the preliminary investigation of these criminal complaints,” the DOJ chief told reporters.

Apart the 23 officials who have been charged and scheduled to be charged, Año said 110 barangay officials are currently under “case build-up” after 318 complainants nationwide reported graft and corrupt practices against them.

Año said the successive cases now being filed by the CIDG against erring barangay officials is a testament to the government’s zero tolerance against corruption.

He assured that probes and casebuild ups are being intensified to ensure that the barangay officials who duped the impoverished of the cash aid due to them will be put behind bars.

Año said most of the cases involved anomalies committed by punong barangays, barangay kagawad, barangay treasurers, barangay secretaries, barangay employees, purok leaders, and even social workers.

Cases for violation of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and RA 11469 (Bayanihan to Heal As One Act) were filed by the PNP-CIDG against these barangay officials.

Año ordered the CIDG to investigate the graft and corruption complaints against barangay officials.

Barangay officials facing complaints which are administrative in nature will still be issued show cause orders by the DILG and investigated by DILG field units for filing of cases against them with the Office of the Ombudsman.

He said “the PNP is now hard at work in pursuing the investigations and the filing of cases especially now that the government is set to release the second tranche of the SAP emergency subsidy for low-income families later this month.’’

DILG Undersecretary and spokesman Jonathan E. Malaya said the anomalies committed by the barangay officials ranged from splitting (of the cash aid), falsification of the master list, and getting a “cut” or “tara” from the SAP beneficiaries, among others

He expressed disappointment “that the national government and the people counted on the concerned barangay officials to be their anchor and support in this time of pandemic but they were like leeches who suck the blood out of the government’s SAP assistance.”

In Bacolod City, Malaya said a punong barangay, barangay secretary, purok president, and liaison officer to the barangay allegedly connived and took back P4,000 each from the possession of seven SAP beneficiaries after they received their P6,000 individual cash aid.

A similar incident was reported in Peñablanca, Cagayan, by a SAP beneficiary who filed a complaint against a barangay kagawad for demanding for the return of P4,000 from the P5,500 that she received, saying the kagawad was the one who caused the inclusion of the recipient in the SAP master list of beneficiaries.

Malaya said that the splitting of SAP assistance and politics in choosing SAP beneficiaries were also noted in several areas of the country.

In San Policarpo, Eastern Samar, a barangay official is under probe for de-listing from the master list of beneficiaries those who did not support him during the last elections.

A barangay chairman in Margosatubig, Zamboanga del Sur, is the subject of a complaint for selecting SAP beneficiaries who are not qualified under the cash assistance and using fictitious names in the list of beneficiaries.

In Tondo, Manila, a barangay chairman is the subject of the complaint of five individuals who claimed that the punong barangay singlehandedly identified the SAP beneficiaries who are mostly his close friends and relatives to the detriment of other qualified beneficiaries.

Malaya disclosed that there was even an incident in Pasay City where a punong barangay included the employees of his laundry shop in the list of SAP recipients and making the cash aid appear as their salaries.

In Lapu-Lapu City, Malaya said a social worker is under investigation for facilitating the inclusion of her four relatives, an in-law and her son’s girlfriend in the list of SAP beneficiaries even if they are not qualified.

Similarly, Malaya revealed that a Cebu City barangay health worker is the subject of a complaint after he included his in-laws in the master list even if they are allegedly not qualified.

Malaya urged the public to file their complaints against erring barangay officials and social workers and assured that they will be made answerable for their misdeeds.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/05/18/23-barangay-execs-face-raps-over-sap/

 

[scott h]

55 minutes ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

old ways of doing things.

Your right...…….

Soon the hospitals will be full of officials with "high blood".

I predict right now that there will accusations and counter accusations for then next 2 years. And when a new president is elected the new administration will indict half the old administration. Political scores will be settles.

How that old saying. "the more things change the more things remain the same" 

[expatuk2014]

where we are the barangay is like a mini Dynasty ! no point in complaining about anything as nothing gets done

[Jollygoodfellow]

31 minutes ago, expatuk2014 said:

where we are the barangay is like a mini Dynasty ! no point in complaining about anything as nothing gets done

I would suspect it depends on where you complain too.

[Mike J]

10 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Seems they are cracking down on the old ways of doing things. 

Lets hope they continue.  Change comes hard and is easily lost, but it is nice to see articles like this.  I am still smiling about the Argao police chief who lost his job for sleeping with a prisoner in his office, instead of locking her in a cell. 

[Jack D]

I am completely shocked about the wide-spread corruption in the Philippines. Joke lang. 

[scott h]

19 minutes ago, Jack D said:

I am completely shocked about the wide-spread corruption in the Philippines. Joke lang.

 

[Old55]

The tip of the iceberg. 

[Mick]

2 hours ago, Old55 said:

The tip of the iceberg. 

Oh yes and it's very top heavy...... I was told 10 years ago here, if you want to get rich in the Philippines, become a priest or a government official.... And from experience I can confirm both are true

[Jollygoodfellow]

17 hours ago, Mike J said:

Lets hope they continue.  Change comes hard and is easily lost, but it is nice to see articles like this.

Is for some

Spoiler

ILOILO CITY – Another erring personnel of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 6 (Western Visayas) was nabbed late Wednesday afternoon for sneaking 60 boxes of liquor through a checkpoint in Guimbal town.

Staff Sgt. Jose Digcabo-on Jr., assigned at PRO-6’s Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit (RPHAU), was allegedly involved in the transport of the contraband.

A police report showed that a shuttle van being operated by Leo Faldas of Molo District in this city was flagged down in a quarantine control checkpoint in Nanga village.

When asked to present documents, Faldas failed to show his travel pass and Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) sticker.

Digcabo-on appeared from the vehicle and allegedly told one of the police officers at the checkpoint not to inspect the van.

“Do not open, sarge, because it is for the group,” Digcabo-on allegedly said in the vernacular.

The police officer at the checkpoint, however, proceeded with the inspection and found 60 boxes of Tanduay Rhum.

Digcabo-on and Faldas were brought to the Guimbal municipal police station and will face charges for violating the liquor ban as stated in Executive Order 080 signed by Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr.

In an official statement, the PRO-6 condemned the act of Digcabo-on who disregarded the stern warning of PRO-6 Director, Brig. Gen. Rene Pamuspusan.

Pamuspusan earlier warned police personnel against buying or selling liquor after three personnel were charged for violating the liquor ban, relieved from their present assignments, and reassigned to the RPHAU.

“The PNP stands firm in punishing police officers who continue to challenge its internal cleansing efforts by immediately filing appropriate criminal and administrative charges against offenders,” the statement said.

The PRO-6 has also recognized the courage and discipline of the personnel assigned at the Nanga checkpoint. (PNA)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1103510