‘The mayors will be facing an election next year, and these problems concerning the faulty “ayuda list” are election issues that will figure prominently in the campaign.’
BENHUR Abalos, chairman of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), has reason to be vexed at the way two social welfare officials started the blame game on the inadequacy or errors in the list of beneficiaries of the latest “ayuda” (assistance) in connection with the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
Abalos named spokesperson Irene Dumlao and Undersecretary Rene Glen Page, both from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), for the gaffe. Reacting to the barrage of complaints from Metro Manila residents that the list of beneficiaries carried names of dead people and that their names had been deleted, the two DSWD officials said local government units (LGUs) headed by the mayors had the discretion to identify the residents who will receive the P1,000 one-time assistance.
This is clearly a faux pass, tossing the blame on the city mayors, which is seriously upsetting for Abalos, whose wife Carmelita is the mayor of Mandaluyong City.
Chairman Abalos said, “The mayors are getting bashed. All the mayors are getting bashed because of those lists.” He pointed out that the distribution of cash assistance is covered by the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No.1 series of 2021 and signed by the heads of the DSWD, Department of Interior and Local Government, and Department of National Defense. This memorandum mandates that the DSWD provide the list of beneficiaries that will be used as reference in the distribution of aid.
Many residents are up in arms — and they have unlimited access to social media to ventilate their gripes — because the lists submitted by the DSWD to the mayors are full of holes. What Chairman Abalos is saying is that the DSWD should own up to the error, offer help in remedying the social blunder, instead of finger-pointing and blaming the LGUs for the inadequate lists.
It is basic that if the DSWD officials know that the lists are flawed, they should have admitted it and told the mayors so in advance, or upon submission of these lists, so that the LGUs will have time to correct these errors.
We know and understand where Chairman Abalos is coming from, the reason why he is upset. The mayors will be facing an election next year, and these problems concerning the faulty “ayuda list” are election issues that will figure prominently in the campaign. The DSWD officials are not facing an election: they may be retained on the strength of Civil Service rules, or if presidential appointees, may just fade away from the service together with President Duterte as he ends his term.
Either way, it remains a big responsibility for these officials to render a basic, efficient, and honest service to the COVID-19-weary populace.
