DILG tells cops: Don’t detain people raising concerns about SAP

May 10, 2020

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Sunday said police precincts personnel should not detain individuals just because they were brought in by barangay officials.

Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño made the statement after receiving reports that some residents were arrested and were detained for posting online their concerns about the social amelioration program (SAP).

Diño said some complainants claimed they were dragged to barangay halls and some said they were detained in precincts because they posted on Facebook about not being SAP beneficiaries or their cash assistance was split.

“Some posted on Facebook, saying they were threatened,” he said in a radio interview.

The DILG official warned that the policemen could be charged for their actions.

According to Diño, his office already received around 3,000 complaints about the financial assistance and violence allegedly committed by the authorities.

“All the complaints we received, we already made case build up, we will file a case to all of them,” he said.

Quoting Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, Diño said the deadline on May 10 for SAP distribution will no longer be extended. The local government units (LGUs), which will fail to meet the deadline, will receive show cause orders.

According to DILG, 1,204 LGUs nationwide have completed the first tranche of their SAP distribution which means 85.49 percent national payout rate.

First to complete is CARAGA region with 100 percent payout rate followed by the Bicol Region with 99.79 percent and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) at 93.92 percent.

Ilocos Region registers a 91.12 percent payout rate followed by the Central Luzon with 90.92 percent performance; MIMAROPA at 89.85 percent; Cagayan Valley at 89.12 percent; SOCCSKSARGEN at 87.92 percent; Western Visayas at 87.55 percent; Northern Mindanao at 86.56 percent; Zamboanga Peninsula at 84.59 percent; Eastern Visayas at 81.92 percent; CALABARZON at 79.61 percent; National Capital Region (NCR) at 75.39 percent; Central Visayas at 71.67 percent; and Davao Region at 57.87 percent.

Of the 1,204 LGUs that have completed the payout, 124 are in CALABARZON, 128 are in Western Visayas, and 119 in Eastern Visayas.

Bicol Region’s 110 LGUs completed the first round of SAP payout; Ilocos Region had 88 LGUs; Central Visayas with 84; Central Luzon with 77; CARAGA and Northern Mindanao both with 73 each; Zamboanga Peninsula with 70; CAR and MIMAROPA with 69 each; Cagayan Valley with 56; SOCCSKSARGEN with 38; and Davao Region with 26.

NCR LGUs have yet to complete the distribution of the first tranche as of Saturday.

According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the second wave of SAP subsidies may be released on or before May 20 to LGUs that have submitted “complete” liquidation reports on the first phase implementation of the cash aid.

The DSWD will conduct validation to ensure that recipients of the first tranche are eligible and there are no cases of duplication. Ella Dionisio/DMS