Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) — A total of 301 barangay (village) officials are facing criminal complaints for supposed anomalies in the distribution of financial assistance from the social amelioration program, the Department of the Interior and Local Government announced on Wednesday.
Of the number, 57 are village chiefs or barangay captains and 57 are barangay kagawad or village councilors, DILG spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said in a statement, citing the report of Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
Malaya said the 301 public servants had been charged for violating Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices, RA 11469 known as the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, and RA 11332 or Law on Reporting of Communicable Diseases.
Meanwhile, authorities continue to build up a case against 76 other village officials, Malaya added.
Some local governments are not yet done distributing the first tranche of cash aid, failing to meet the May 10 payout deadline.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s said in his 10th report on the government’s COVID-19 response to Congress on Monday that 98 percent of the target beneficiaries of the social amelioration program have received their subsidy.
The first tranche of the government’s SAP initially covered 18 million low-income households, who were expected to receive ₱5,000 to ₱8,000 worth of assistance.
The distribution of the second tranche of cash aid is expected to start once the Department of Social Welfare and Development finishes validating the names of people who got the first tranche of the cash aid to avoid duplication.
