Published April 29, 2021, 9:11 AM
The Office of the President, through the “Mask Para Sa Masa” program has turned over three million pieces of face masks to the Provincial Government of Bulacan (PGB).
Governor Daniel R. Fernando with Asec. Domenic Tolentino, Jr. (2nd from left) of the Department of Trade and Industry and Usec. Rene Glen Paje (middle) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development with the three million pieces of non-medical cloth face masks donated by the Office of the President under “Mask Para sa Masa” program at the Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium, City of Malolos, Bulacan on Wednesday. Also in photo are Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer Rowena J. Tiongson, Brig. Gen. Andrew O. Costelo, commander of 703rd Infantry (Agila) Brigade, and other representatives from the DSWD. (Photo courtesy of Provincial Public Affairs Office / MANILA BULLETIN)
Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso (Manila PIO / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
This was after DSWD Spokesperson Irene Dumlao and Usec. Rene Glen Paje said local chief executives have the discretion to identify the beneficiaries of the one-time emergency cash assistance being distributed by the national government amid the reimposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
Domagoso stressed that he and the other Metro Manila mayors only followed the list of Social Amelioration Program (SAP) beneficiaries that they received from the DSWD.
“Lalo niyo lang nililito ang tao, eh. Eh bakit ba kayo nagkukubli, eh kayo ang nagbilin (You are confusing the people even more. Why are you avoiding blame when we are just following your orders)?” he said in a live broadcast on Facebook on Saturday (April 17).
Published April 17, 2021, 11:27 AM
Maintains LGUs have final say on ECQ ‘ayuda’ list
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) clarified Saturday, April 17, that the list of Emergency Subsidy Program (ESP) beneficiaries it provided to the local government units (LGUs) only contained the names of the head of the low-income families.
MANILA BULLETIN FILE
The DSWD made clarification after Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos on Friday night, April 16, called out the agency for supposedly trying to “turn the tables” on the Metro mayors and blame them for complaints regarding the purported “faulty” aid list.
“Nais naming ipabatid na ang pangalan lamang ng head of the family ang nakalagay sa listahan na ibinahagi ng DSWD sa mga local government units (LGUs) (We would like to inform that only the name of the head of the family is included in the list provided by the DSWD to the local government units),” it said in a
He said they will inform the Joint Monitoring and Inspection Team (JMIT) about the matter.
DSWD sits as a member of the JMIT, whose creation was stipulated in Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 1 series of 2021 on the implementation of the financial aid in the National Capital Region (NCR)-plus.
Under the JMC No. 1, the DSWD, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of National Defense (DND) are tasked to provide technical assistance to the LGUs “on their respective areas of concern.”
In an interview with the DZBB, DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao stressed that that based on the JMC and Local Budget Circular NO. 136, issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), an eligible individual is entitled to P1,000, provided that the assistance given to a family should not exceed the cap of P4,000.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos has called out the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for trying to "turn the tables" on the Metro mayors and essentially blame them for the litany of complaints regarding the National Capital Region (NCR) one-t