BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Three officials and employees of Barangay Don Salvador Benedicto in Pontevedra, Negros Occidental face criminal charges related to the distribution of the emergency cash assistance under the national government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP).
Three complainants reported to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)-Negros Occidental Provincial Field Unit 6 alleging that the selection of SAP beneficiaries in Barangay Don Salvador Benedicto was manipulated to favor certain relatives and close associates of the respondents.
Charged before the Provincial Prosecutors Office by the CIDG were village chairman Willy Fernandez Palermo, councilman Edgar Bandon Berdan, barangay treasurer Jinky Pobresa, barangay health worker Virginia Zamora, barangay nutrition scholar Jonalyn Samuldea, and child development worker Mary Grace Eslabon.
According to CIDG-Negros Occidental which conducted an investigation, some SAP beneficiaries were not qualified, while some “poorest of the poor” families were not able to claim emergency cash assistance.
The charges filed by CIDG-Negros Occidental against the respondents were for violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and Republic Act 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.
The respondents could not be reached for comment as this was being written.
A separate administrative complaint for violation of Republic Act 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) would also be filed before the Office of the Ombudsman.
As of July 8, the number of barangay officials and persons in Western Visayas that the CIDG had filed charges over SAP reached 128./PN
