Stripping LGU of cash aid distribution role is the president's prerogative —ULAP chair

An official of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) on Tuesday said stripping a local government unit of the role of distributing cash aid is the prerogative of the president.

“That is the prerogative of the president if he does not want certain LGUs to handle the distribution of the ayuda of the national government,” ULAP chairperson and Marinduque Governor Presbitero Velasco Jr. told GMA News Online in a text message.

He was referring to President Rodrigo Duterte's instruction to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to take over the task

Duterte, who made the remark on Monday, did not specify the LGU.

“He only wants people's money to be spent the right way,” Velasco said.

Duterte said the DILG and the DSWD would be the ones to distribute the cash assistance in LGUs where officials are unable to distribute it in an orderly manner.

The DILG said it has not received any instructions yet from the Malacañang regarding the stripping of the cash aid distribution duty of the LGU.

Asked on the position of the DILG on Duterte's remark, DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said the department is prepared for any eventuality.

Low income households in Metro Manila are entitled to a P1,000 to P4,000 cash aid after the region was placed under enhanced community quarantine amid the threat of the Delta coronavirus variant.

The ECQ, which started on August 6, will last until August 20 unless extended. --KBK, GMA News