ILOILO City — Mayor Raisa Treñas defended the city government’s implementation of the Bigay Bigas sa Masa Rice Program, saying the city strictly followed the guidelines set by the national government amid complaints that some families were excluded because of politics.
Treñas said the city had no discretion to alter the eligibility criteria, explaining that beneficiaries were identified based on the program’s guidelines, which disqualify those already receiving assistance from certain national government programs.
“Ang challenge lang, nagbag-o ang demographics. Damo na ang pwede mahatagan. Syempre kun isa kamo ka barangay, ang neighbor mo mahatagan, ang isa indi mahatagan, mareklamo gid kay pareho man lang sila,” Treñas said.
She added that sectors already covered by other government assistance programs, including beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and some solo parents receiving aid, were not included under the rice distribution.
“We have to follow the guidelines. We cannot just add or remove names because there are rules that we need to comply with,” the mayor stressed.
Treñas said the city government nonetheless ensured that the allocation was fully utilized by identifying qualified beneficiaries within the parameters set by the national government.
“Gin-maximize gid naton ang beneficiaries. We wanted as many qualified families as possible to benefit from the program while remaining within the guidelines,” she said.
“At the end of the day, we have to go back to the guidelines because those were set by the national government,” Treñas added.
Some residents claimed they were excluded from the list of beneficiaries because they were not supporters of the Uswag local political group. Some barangay officials also alleged they were not informed about the program because they were not allied with the city administration.
But Teresa Gelogo, head of the City Social Welfare and Development Office, denied that politics played a role in the selection of beneficiaries.
Gelogo said the city merely implemented the criteria provided by the national government and advised residents who believe they should qualify for the program to visit their respective City Social Welfare and Development field offices for reassessment.
Under the Bigay Bigas sa Masa Rice Program, 41,958 families, representing about 25 percent of Iloilo City’s population, are set to receive 10 kilograms of rice each.
The city began distributing rice assistance on June 29./PN
