ILOILO CITY — The Philippine National Police (PNP) in Western Visayas region has recorded 87 complaints of alleged anomalies over the distribution of the national government’s cash aid for those affected by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
“In this time of pandemic, corruption has no place in Western Visayas,” said Police Brigadier General Rene Pamuspusan, regional director of Police Regional Office (PRO-6).
In the days to come, PRO-6 is expecting more complaints of alleged irregularities in the distribution of Social Amelioration Program (SAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
To recall, the DSWD regional office handed over the SAP budget to local government units (LGUs) in Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental provinces as well as the highly urbanized cities of Iloilo and Bacolod.
From the LGU level, the SAP distribution is facilitated by barangay officials in each city or town.
The PRO-6 forwarded the complaints to the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG-6) for formal probe and subsequent filing of charges in court.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Gorero, PRO-6 acting spokesperson, said that four people have been charged in the region for SAP-related anomalies.
Three are from Isabela town, Negros Occidental province.
Facing charges of graft and corruption are the barangay captain and the town’s social welfare officer. A private individual is also facing charges for using falsified documents.
A separate private person in Bacolod City is also facing charges for falsifying documents.
Meanwhile, PRO-6 and CIDG-6 are both trying to get credible witnesses in filing charges for four other separate complaints in Capiz province. (Tara Yap)