RETURNED. Village chief Maria Luz Ferrer (right) of Barangay 8 in Isabela, Negros Occidental returns the PHP6,000 social amelioration grant given to her 13-year-old granddaughter to personnel of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office on May 5. Ferrer has been charged by the police for alleged irregularity in the inclusion of the girl as a beneficiary. (Photo courtesy of Asenso Barangay Otso Facebook page)
BACOLOD CITY – The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) continues to receive complaints on alleged irregularities in the distribution of government cash aid in connection with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis.
Col. Romeo Baleros, police provincial director, on Tuesday, said the latest message he received was from a resident of Silay City.
“We forward the complaints to our investigators who conduct the validation and case build-up. Once we confirm that the recipient is not qualified, we can use it as evidence,” Baleros said.
Last week, the police filed criminal charges against Maria Luz Ferrer, village chief of Barangay 8, and municipal social welfare and development officer Mae Fajardo in Isabela for their alleged involvement in irregularities in the release of social amelioration grant under the Emergency Subsidy Program (ESP).
A third individual, listed as a beneficiary in Isabela, but is actually a resident of Bago City, was also charged.
Meanwhile, Ferrer, whose 13-year-old granddaughter was listed as a beneficiary, said in an interview that on May 5, she gave back the PHP6,000 to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office.
“It was merely politics,” Ferrer said of the issues raised against her.
She explained it was the DSWD that approved the inclusion of the girl as a beneficiary of the social amelioration grant since her late mother was also in the roster of “Listahanan” or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) program.
In 2019, the girl’s mother died due to heart failure, and she and her three siblings are now in the care of their mother’s common-law husband, who has been displaced from work during the quarantine period.
In a statement, Brig. Gen. Rene Pamuspusan, regional director of PRO-6, said they will conduct aggressive investigation against government officials involved in the anomalous distribution of social amelioration funds.
He directed the provincial and city directors in Region 6 to go after local government and village officials involved in corruption.
Earlier, Baleros directed all the city and municipal police chiefs to establish action centers with dedicated hotline numbers that will receive and act on any reports of irregularities on the distribution of government cash assistance. (PNA)
