Mayor asks DSWD to specify guidelines on aid assistance

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Mayor Evelio Leonardia, president of the League of Cities, sought the help of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Bautista to issue a clear and specific statement on beneficiaries of financial assistance from the government.

Leonardia said in a two-page letter to Bautista that there is a “growing perception” and misinterpretation through the mass media that there is enough budget to “cover all lower-income households.”

The mayor wrote the letter after mayors all over the country informed him that this misconception and false expectations have been causing confusion among their residents and barangay officials.

The mayor himself is aware of this, as barangay captains in Bacolod have been reporting to him about complaints coming from their residents, some of whom believe “everyone is qualified” to benefit from the program even if DSWD guidelines actually provide for a smaller number of target beneficiaries than expected by the people.

“With so much unfounded and even malicious speculations circulating on allegations of corruption and many other issues,” Leonardia “humbly (requested)” Bautista that DSWD release an official statement to clarify that not everyone will receive the subsidy but only those qualified under DSWD guidelines; that the assistance will be distributed by DSWD to the qualified beneficiaries in coordination, and with the support of the LGUs and respective barangays.

“We hope to get a categorical statement from our authorities to clear, once and for all, this widespread misconception and misinterpretation that could cause enormous confusion and inordinate expectations among our people,” Leonardia said.