General Santos City administrator Arnel Zapatos. (File photo courtesy of the city government)
GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The city government has advised residents here who received cash assistance under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) despite being deemed ineligible to immediately return them voluntarily to avoid facing possible charges for misrepresentation and falsification of public documents.
This came amid the mounting complaints regarding the inclusion of affluent households in the city in the list of beneficiaries of the PHP5,000 emergency financial assistance from the national government.
City Administrator Arnel Zapatos acknowledged that there were indeed ineligible families who received assistance, taking the slot of those really in need and severely affected by the 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crisis.
Zapatos said there were a number of unqualified households that already waived or returned the cash assistance in favor of those eligible but others did not.
“Some even posted in the social media that they made it to the list although they were clearly not qualified,” he told reporters.
The distribution of the SAP assistance was still ongoing in several barangays here and expected to be completed within the week.
Under the SAP, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) targeted a total of 111,029 of the estimated 169,000 families here as beneficiaries, with a funding of around PHP556 million.
Zapatos reminded beneficiaries who knew they were unqualified but still received the assistance that they can be held liable for misrepresentation and falsification of public documents.
Under Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code, he said violators may face imprisonment of at least six years and a fine of not less than PHP5,000.
The official said the social amelioration card (SAC) forms that they filled up include an undertaking regarding the veracity of the information provided and attesting that they were qualified to receive the SAP assistance.
He said the SAC forms have bar codes that will help them easily trace everyone who received the cash assistance.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government and the DSWD already warned that it will run after the violators once the Covid-19 crisis is over. (PNA)
