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The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will ask 43 mayors to explain why they could not efficiently distribute cash aid to their voters under the Social Improvement Program (SAP).
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Thursday that local chief executives must cite the reasons for their poor performance despite the two extensions of time they were given.
The mayors had until May 10 to distribute the distribution to all its recipients.
The 43 mayors had an achievement rate of 79 percent or less, Year said in a statement.
“DILG and the public deserve to know why they were unable to complete their distribution,” he said.
Eleven of the mayors are in Western Visayas, eight in Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), five in central Visayas, four in the Davao region and four in the national capital region (NCR).
Two mayors in the Ilocos region, the Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Quezon), Visayas del Este, Mindanao del Norte were unable to meet the distribution deadline.
A mayor in downtown Luzon earned a low performance rating.
Year said SAP’s national payment completion rate is 97 percent
Despite the high payment rate across the country, 3 percent of family beneficiaries have not received aid.
Year also announced that 183 barangay officials are under investigation for alleged grafting and corruption in SAP distribution.
Year he made the announcement after the President hung up a P30,000 reward for each confirmed incident of barangay officials involved in corruption in the SAP distribution.
DILG Undersecretary and Spokesman Jonathan Malaya said that SAP-related cases will be investigated by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
DILG field offices will no longer handle such cases, Malaya said.
Year decided to bring the CIDG to guarantee the immediate presentation of cases.
Malaya explained that CIDG has more investigators than DILG field offices.
Malaya said DILG will crack down on barangay officials who tolerate violations of social alienation, gambling, parades or any form of mass gathering.
The public can participate in validating the list of SAP beneficiaries in their communities by reviewing the list posted in the barangay salons, Malaya said.
Publication of the list is a requirement for the second tranche of the SAP.
