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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 12) – The Office of the Ombudsman suspended 89 barangay presidents for six months for alleged anomalies in the implementation of the financial assistance program for their constituents who have been hardest hit by COVID-19, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said on Saturday. .
“Some 89 punong barangay throughout the country have been suspended preventively for six months by the Office of the Ombudsman after the Department of the Interior and Local Government filed complaints against said barangay officials for anomalies and irregularities related to the implementation of the first tranche of the Social Improvement Program ”, said the DILG in a statement.
The head of the Interior, Eduardo Año, ordered the mayors to act immediately on the suspension order upon receipt of their copies.
Ano said that most of those who were suspended are from the Ilocos region regions with 12 local officials, Metro Manila with 11 and Cagayan Valley with 10.
Only Soccsksargen, which is made up of South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos, does not have any suspended barangay officials.
The DILG said it has brought cases against 447 people for violations of the Corrupt and Anti-Corruption Practices Act, RA 11469 (Bayanihan To Heal As One Act, and the Code of Conduct for Government Officials and Employees for their handling of the subsidy program. The figure, “211 are local elected officials and barangay, 104 are appointed barangay officials, and 132 are their civil co-conspirators.”
The government placed Luzon under the tightest movement restrictions in March through May to curb the spread of the coronavirus, leading it to distribute billions of pesos in aid under the social betterment program, as millions of Filipinos were unable to work during that period.
The first tranche of the government’s financial assistance program initially covered nearly 18 million low-income households, which were destined to receive between $ 5,000 and $ 8,000 in cash assistance. The second round of cash aid distribution is still ongoing, according to the government.
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