At least 405 officials of local government would face corruption charges related to the anomalous distribution of cash aid from the national government’s social amelioration program or SAP.
According to the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), the accused local officials would undergo investigation for reportedly using the SAP cash aid program for their own interest.
The officials allegedly listed their relatives and unqualified SAP recipients as beneficiaries while others split the money to other needy families that are not on the list.
“The CIDG, in its continuous monitoring of cases pertaining to SAP cash aid distribution anomalies perpetrated by local government officials, already accepted and handled 169 cases from 307 complainants against 405 local government officials,” it said in a statement.
Of the 405, 74 have been filed in courts. One was endorsed to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) while the rest are still under investigation.
Those who are accused would face charges for violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and RA 11469, also known as the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.
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All involved in SAP corruption would be charges, including unqualified recipients
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) asserted on Sunday (May 24) that even the unqualified SAP recipients would be charged accordingly, said DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya.
Malaya asserted that they would not be spared from facing criminal charges even if they return the cash aid.
“Return of the aid will not extinguish their criminal liability,” Malaya said.
Undeserving financial grantees pointed to barangay officials who included them in the first release of SAP, according to the CIDG-NCR’s investigation and case build-up.
CIDG-NCR chief Col. Arnold Thomas Ibay backed Malaya’s statement, saying those who are more fortunate should not have accepted the money in the first place, depriving others of the financial assistance.
“Dapat outright hindi na po nag claim kahit listed (They should have outright not claimed the aid even if they were listed),” Ibay noted.
Malaya said due process would be applied to those accused and would have their scheduled time to explain themselves in court.