“Not one from Region XII.”
This was the short answer of DILG XII RD Josephine Cabrido-Leysa, CESO III as a response to a query if there are mayors in Region XII who were included in the list of forty-three local chief executives which were given show cause orders by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for having poor performance in the distribution of the emergency cash subsidy under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).
Show cause orders were given to LGUs whose accomplishment rate on SAP payout was 79% and below as of May 10, the final deadline set by the Department, DILG Central Office revealed.
SOCCSKSARGEN was ranked third based on the bulletin of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) of best performing regions with the highest distribution of the first tranche of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) of the government.
The Region reached an accomplishment rate of 98.92% as of 11:59 PM of May 10, the last extended date of payout set by DILG to LGUs. It has hit the 100 % mark the next day, May 11, 2020.
The show-cause orders will require the mayors across the country to explain why they had poor performance despite the two (2) extensions of the deadline given to local government units (LGUs) with the latest deadline set at 12 midnight of May 10.
Out of the 43, eleven of these mayors are in Western Visayas, 8 are in MIMAROPA, 5 in Central Visayas, 4 in the Davao Region, and 4 in the National Capital Region.
In a radio interview on May 14, RD Leysa clarified that the
PNP-CIDG has been tasked to handle SAP graft and corruption cases and do the immediate filing of cases and not the DILG field offices. “As what we might have read sa media, mayroong mga alegasyon ng padding ng listahan, splitting ng pondo at maging ang pare-parehas na mga pangalan ng beneficiaries. Lahat ng ito ay malinaw na paglabag sa anti-graft and corrupt practices act,” Leysa pointed out.
Administrative cases, however, await those who violate physical distancing rules and there had been reports about barangay officials tolerating, if not sponsoring cockfights, holding parades or mass gathering or group activities clandestinely.
It can be recalled that Secretary Eduardo M. Ano issued an order for the mandatory posting of the list of SAP beneficiaries to discourage anomalies.
“We have seen bigger public participation in exposing the alleged irregularities due to the posting of these lists of SAP beneficiaries. Yun po ang hangad ng ating Kalihim. According to reports na nakalap ng ating Kagawaran, 97% ng mga barangay ang nagpaskil ng listahan,” Dir. Leysa further explained.
