DAVAO CITY — Some 155 barangay captains in the country have been placed under preventive suspension over alleged malversation, corruption, estafa, and other anomalous transaction relative to the distribution of the government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP) to aid families affected by the coronavirus-19 pandemic.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año during the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging and Infectious Disease (AITF-EID) briefing aired Monday night, reported to President Rodrigo Duterte that the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) have listed 155 criminal complaints against barangay captains.
The DILG, according to Año have coordinated with the Office of Ombudsman Samuel Marteris for the submission of the complaint.
Within the week, he said, he expects 50 barangay captains will be placed under preventive suspension while the Ombudsman will investigate the administrative aspect of the case.
Of the 50 barangay captains facing suspension, 13 come from the National Capital Region (Region 1); 10 from Region 2l ; 3 from Region III; and, 11 from Region IV-A.
The remaining 95 will be subjected to the same procedure as the DILG and CIDG dig deeper into the alleged anomalous distribution of the government fund.
In many villages around the country, residents complained of the preferential distribution of the P6,000 SAP for the poor and deserving family which on many occasions as alleged, went to the pockets of the family members and able allies of the village official.
Ronilo, a PUJ driver, a resident of Davao City’s First District is among those who dialed 8888 and reported to DILG’s hotline, complaining how he was erased in the name of the beneficiaries in favor of the business ‘Kumpare” of the Purok leader.
“Naa ko sa lista kay sa lista sa indigent sa city ug sa simbahan apil man ko, pero gi-erase man akong pangalan sa purok leader, ingon niya puno na ang listahan, unya giilisan niya sa pangalan sa tag-iya sa feeds nga iyang utanganan, datu man na- naga pa 5-6 man na, ngano naappil man sa SAP, mao nireklamo ko,” he told Newsline.ph
(I am included in the city and in the church’s list of the indigent, but my name was erased by the purok leader, he said the list is already filled, he erased my name and replaced with a name by the owner of the feeds where he is getting, has debt, he is rich, he is into 5-6 (money lending), why is he included in SAP, so I complained.)
Año in an earlier statement said many barangay captains include their children and wife and relatives among the SAP beneficiaries which is contrary to law.-Editha Z. Caduaya/Newsline.ph
