Shelter aid fund ‘shaving’ probed

CEBU, Philippines -  The National Bureau of Investigation-6 had started its investigation on allegations that the Emergency Shelter Assistance fund for typhoon Yolanda survivors in Pontevedra town of Capiz have been slashed of its amount.

Jeremiah Sargado, NBI-6 supervising agent, said several residents of barangays Tacas and Malag-it in Pontevedra complained about this and other ESA beneficiaries in other villages also planned to file their complaints soon.

ESA is given by the Department of Social Welfare and Development to families, without permanent source of income or with income below the poverty threshold, whose houses were either partially or totally damaged by Yolanda.

A beneficiary with totally damaged house will get P30,000 cash assistance, while one with partially damaged house will receive P10,000.

In Pontevedra, however, the ESA distribution was only done last July, or 20 months since Yolanda battered the country on November 8, 2014.

On top of this delay, several beneficiaries alleged that their respective barangay officials “coerced” them into shelling out a certain amount of their aid, with the latter’s claim that the money will be given to other residents who were not included in the ESA beneficiaries’ masterlist.

Some ESA beneficiaries reportedly got their money from the town’s treasurer office, but said the P30,000 was placed in two envelopes: P20,000 in one envelope and the other P10,000 in another. 

“According to the complaints we received, they were made to go to the Liga ng mga Barangay Office were they were made to surrender the envelope containing the P10,000,” Sargado said.

In another instance, a beneficiary narrated he was already inside his house when the barangay chairman, together with some tanods, arrived and forced themselves into his house. He alleged he was then forced to surrender a certain amount from the ESA money he received earlier.

“If that’s true, it could constitute robbery by means of violence and intimidation,” Sargado said.

Another ESA recipient in one of Pontevedra’s island villages, said she received her P30,000 ESA money in full, but before she could even plan on what to do with it, tanods knocked on her door demanding her to surrender P9,000 from it.

“They told us that the money will be given to other Yolanda victims who were not able to get their ESA. But was it my fault if they (latter) have not complied with the requirements and have not received anything?” she asked the NBI-6.

Based on the complainants’ allegations, the NBI-6 surmised that the ESA “shaving” was done systematically.

Others were slashed by as much as P16,000, Sargado said, adding that the beneficiaries might file different complaints depending on the circumstances from which their ESA was “taken.”

For the DSWD-6, the incident is nothing more of unfortunate. May Rago, DWSD-6 regional public information officer, explained they immediately released the ESA benefits once a particular local government unit complied with all the requirements.

The DSWD also entered a memorandum of agreement relegating the release of ESA to the LGU. “It’s just unfortunate that we heard such reports. But as far as ESA is concerned, we released what was due to qualified beneficiaries,” Rago said.

Based on the DSWD guidelines, qualified to receive ESA are those families with fixed monthly income below P15,000, but those with family members, working abroad, are not eligible to receive the assistance, she said.

Rago said that, to date, the DSWD-6 already released a total of P6.8 billion in ESA, which represents 91 percent of the agency’s Comprehensive Recovery and Rehabilitation Plan for Yolanda, covering about 378,000 Yolanda-affected families in Western Visayas. (FREEMAN)