Binay slams DSWD's 'lack of urgency'
Published Mar 31, 2020 07:40 am
By Hannah L. Torregoza
Senator Nancy Binay on Tuesday slammed the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) over its apparent lack of urgency and its sluggish distribution of food packs among families affected by the ongoing enhanced community quarantine measures.
Sen. Nancy Binay
(Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) Binay said the country is already on its third week of being under an enforce lockdown and yet the DSWD is still unable to provide immediate assistance to those who are directly affected by the COVID-19 threat. The senator pointed out that the P46-million worth of family food packs the DSWD distributed in the regions are not enough to even cover the 17.6 million Filipinos—or over three million families—who are living below the poverty threshold. "If the DSWD is really serious in providing immediate assistance to those who are affected by the lockdown, then bilisan naman ang ayuda (they should expedite giving assistance),” Binay said in a statement. “Pa-three weeks na tayo pero P46-million pa lang ang nailalabas para sa family food packs nationwide. At the rate things are going, dehado ang mamayang Pilipino, (Filipinos will suffer),” she lamented. Binay said she wonders what the DSWD will accomplish if it will only wait for local government units (LGUs) to request for augmentation. “Nasa 100 milyon ang Pilipino. Yung paglabas ng P46-million, hangga't di nakakarating sa mga nangangailangan ang ayuda, di ibig sabihin ay na-fulfill ang trabaho, (We have more than 100 million Filipinos. Releasing P46-million doesn’t mean they have fulfilled their job if not all these food packs are distributed to those who are in need of assistance),” Binay added. As of March 30, she said the DSWD has distributed a total of P46,638,918.97 worth of family food packs to its regional field offices in response to the requests of LGUs for resource augmentation. But Binay said the DSWD should be reminded that not all barangays are capable of sustaining their financial and relief assistance to their constituents. At the very least, the DSWD must review its distribution and implementation policies to fit the unusual situation on the ground, Binay said. “Kailangan ba talagang ubusin muna ang pondo ng munisipyo bago humingi sa national government? May sapat na pera at pondo ang DSWD from the national government, dapat tuloy-tuloy lang ang ayuda (Do they really have to wait for municipal funds to be depleted before they ask from the national government? The DSWD has enough funds downloaded from the national government, so financial assistance should be continuous),” she pointed out. “Bigyan na kaagad ang mga LGU bago pa maubos o mawalan ng pondo. Pilay na nga ang mga barangay, mas mapipilayan pa dahil sa red tape, (They should help the LGUs before they run out of funds. Our barangay leaders are already crippled, they will become even more crippled due to red tape),” Binay lamented. The lawmaker further said she finds it unacceptable that LGUs still need to formally request for augmentation from the DSWD before food packs are released to them. "Sobrang nakakalungkot ang nangyari sa mga nagsakripisyo at namatay para sa bayan. Sa isang banda, ang di katanggap-tanggap ay may mga pamilyang mamamatay sa gutom dahil sa kapabayaan (It’s so sad to note the sacrifices rendered by some people and those who have died for the country. We can’t accept the fact that there would be families who will die of hunger because they were neglected by the government),” Binay pointed out. “This is not the way to heal a nation…the most vulnerable in the barangays must feel the government’s concern and care,” she emphasized. “The undistributed food packs translates to hundreds of unserved LGU communities. Sadly, many families have not felt the help promised on television,” she further said.
Sen. Nancy Binay(Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) Binay said the country is already on its third week of being under an enforce lockdown and yet the DSWD is still unable to provide immediate assistance to those who are directly affected by the COVID-19 threat. The senator pointed out that the P46-million worth of family food packs the DSWD distributed in the regions are not enough to even cover the 17.6 million Filipinos—or over three million families—who are living below the poverty threshold. "If the DSWD is really serious in providing immediate assistance to those who are affected by the lockdown, then bilisan naman ang ayuda (they should expedite giving assistance),” Binay said in a statement. “Pa-three weeks na tayo pero P46-million pa lang ang nailalabas para sa family food packs nationwide. At the rate things are going, dehado ang mamayang Pilipino, (Filipinos will suffer),” she lamented. Binay said she wonders what the DSWD will accomplish if it will only wait for local government units (LGUs) to request for augmentation. “Nasa 100 milyon ang Pilipino. Yung paglabas ng P46-million, hangga't di nakakarating sa mga nangangailangan ang ayuda, di ibig sabihin ay na-fulfill ang trabaho, (We have more than 100 million Filipinos. Releasing P46-million doesn’t mean they have fulfilled their job if not all these food packs are distributed to those who are in need of assistance),” Binay added. As of March 30, she said the DSWD has distributed a total of P46,638,918.97 worth of family food packs to its regional field offices in response to the requests of LGUs for resource augmentation. But Binay said the DSWD should be reminded that not all barangays are capable of sustaining their financial and relief assistance to their constituents. At the very least, the DSWD must review its distribution and implementation policies to fit the unusual situation on the ground, Binay said. “Kailangan ba talagang ubusin muna ang pondo ng munisipyo bago humingi sa national government? May sapat na pera at pondo ang DSWD from the national government, dapat tuloy-tuloy lang ang ayuda (Do they really have to wait for municipal funds to be depleted before they ask from the national government? The DSWD has enough funds downloaded from the national government, so financial assistance should be continuous),” she pointed out. “Bigyan na kaagad ang mga LGU bago pa maubos o mawalan ng pondo. Pilay na nga ang mga barangay, mas mapipilayan pa dahil sa red tape, (They should help the LGUs before they run out of funds. Our barangay leaders are already crippled, they will become even more crippled due to red tape),” Binay lamented. The lawmaker further said she finds it unacceptable that LGUs still need to formally request for augmentation from the DSWD before food packs are released to them. "Sobrang nakakalungkot ang nangyari sa mga nagsakripisyo at namatay para sa bayan. Sa isang banda, ang di katanggap-tanggap ay may mga pamilyang mamamatay sa gutom dahil sa kapabayaan (It’s so sad to note the sacrifices rendered by some people and those who have died for the country. We can’t accept the fact that there would be families who will die of hunger because they were neglected by the government),” Binay pointed out. “This is not the way to heal a nation…the most vulnerable in the barangays must feel the government’s concern and care,” she emphasized. “The undistributed food packs translates to hundreds of unserved LGU communities. Sadly, many families have not felt the help promised on television,” she further said.