Politics to be kept out of ayuda, other assistance

MANILA, Philippines — A tripartite agreement has been signed by government agencies to protect the delivery of social services from partisan politics as the May 9 general elections approach.

The agreement was signed by representatives of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Commission on Elections (Comelec).

DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista said the agreement would safeguard pro-poor programs and the beneficiaries from being unwittingly or knowingly used in a political campaign.

Bautista said the strengthened policy would not only maintain the integrity of the programs, but also protect the rights of the beneficiaries to vote freely based on their conscience and preferences.

The agreement strengthens provisions that will prevent political candidates from using any social welfare program in their campaign.

It also ensures that no program funds will be used for political activities during the election or at any given time.

A technical working group will be formed to efficiently report erring politicians and ensure that the agreement will be implemented even after the elections.

The memorandum strengthens the collaboration between the agencies on preventive initiatives against partisan politics in social programs.

It refreshes the joint memorandum circular that was signed by the three agencies during the 2013 local elections.

The DILG committed to fully support and ensure that the programs and projects of the DSWD would be shielded from partisan politics.

Comelec Chairman Saidamen Pangarungan said the agreement is necessary for the pursuit of free, fair, clean and honest elections this May.

Pangarungan said this is part of efforts to protect the integrity of the May 9 national and local elections.

Meanwhile, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia yesterday signed a peace covenant in Catbalogan, Samar that will ensure full transparency in all processes involving the elections.

Garcia said Samar was chosen as a venue for the event because the number of election-related incidents in the province has significantly declined over the past elections.

He said the province is no longer considered an election critical area.

“This is not a critical area of concern, but more to highlight the improved security situation and the relative peace prevailing even during the start of the campaign period,” Garcia said. “Coming here in Samar does not necessarily mean that this is a hot spot area. We want Samar to become a model of how we conduct the elections peacefully.”

Garcia’s response came after Pangarungan recently signed the same covenant in Marawi City, noting the peace covenant signing also showed that the province is now “in complete control” of the poll body.

He said they would also visit either Zamboanga or General Santos City.

Garcia said they would announce this week the “areas of concern” for the May 9 elections after verifying and consulting with their regional personnel, and after the en banc session today.

Garcia also disputed reports that the Comelec is worried about the alleged inclusion of deceased people in the voters’ list.

He said the Comelec is regularly conducting “cleansing” of the voters’ list to determine people who should be delisted for failure to vote in the past two succeeding elections.

He said some names of deceased voters might still appear on the list because the poll body has yet to remove them, especially when the civil registrar’s office failed to submit a report to the Comelec.

“Republic Act 8189 provides that the Comelec should immediately be furnished with a list of people who died in a particular quarter,” Garcia said.

Garcia said they would announce tomorrow the number of registered individuals who will be removed from the list, including the list of “double or multiple registrants.”

He said they would publish the breakdown per region and per province.