Seven residents of Barangay Felisa in this city filed a complaint against their village chief and three barangay personnel on Friday for allegedly pocketing a portion of the PHP6,000 government cash aid they received in April.
With the assistance of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Bacolod City Field Unit, the complainants — Mark Anthony Vasquez, Nelly Palabrica, Anita Taña, Michael Jimenez, Mary Joy Relota, Rosamae Robles, and Aljean Alvior — proceeded to the City Prosecutor’s Office and subscribed their joint affidavit before Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Hermes Arino.
Named as respondents were barangay chairman Ramon Jardin, barangay secretary Stephen Jalandoon, barangay liaisons Corazon Latoza and Rosejean Estador. Latoza is also the president of Purok Paho.
Case information submitted by Chief Master Sgt. Ramiro Gocotano, officer-in-charge of CIDG-Bacolod, showed that last April 22, the respondents were “conniving and confederating with each other and committed the acts and/or omissions attributed to them in this complaint”.
The four were charged for violating Republic Act (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and RA 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.
“(They) willfully, unlawfully collected, and took back the amount of PHP4,000 from the (possession) of the (complainants) who received the amount of PHP6,000 from the social amelioration program (SAP) funds,” the complaint said.
It added that the respondents were “clearly violating the provisions of RA 11469 and Presidential Proclamation 922 without thinking (about) the serious threat to the health, safety, security, and lives of their constituents and adverse effects to their means of livelihood, and severe disruption of economic activities.”
“Respondents are also violating (the implementation) of the government mobilization assistance in the provision of basic necessities to families and individuals affected by (the) imposition of community quarantine,” the complaint said.
Media reports said the complainants admitted that they were asked to surrender the PHP4,000 so it can be distributed to others who were unable to avail of the government cash assistance.
The social amelioration grant is provided to low-income families displaced by the enhanced community quarantine due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
It is being implemented through the Emergency Subsidy Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. (Nanette Guadalquiver ndb via pna)