Navotas to sue individuals who lied to get DSWD aid amid COVID-19 pandemic

The Navotas City government will sue individuals who lied about their income status and availed of the P8,000 social amelioration aid from the government amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Toby Tiangco said Monday.

Tiangco said the city government spotted fraud after checking the social amelioration forms submitted by the residents to be able to get the aid.

“Seryoso kami rito, ipa-file namin ang kaso. Hindi man ngayon kasi naka-enhanced community quarantine, pero hindi namin ito pababayaan,” Tiangco said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV.

“Nakalagay rito sa pinirmahan nilang SAC na puwede silang makulong kapag nagsinungaling sila. Kasi hindi mo lang pinagsamantalahan ang gobyerno, pinagsamantalahan mo rin ang kapwa mo na mas nangangailangan,” he added.

He cited the case of a barangay administrator who submitted a SAC form to get the cash aid even if he is not qualified to avail it.

Worst, he said, the wife of the said barangay administrator also submitted a separate SAC which meant their family is due to receive another P8,000 even if they are unqualified.

“Double entry na ito eh,” Tiangco said.

He also revealed a case of a family who lied about their income by omitting the fact that her husband is not out of work and is earning his salary even amid the quarantine.

Fortunately, the mayor said there are those who heeded their call to be honest.

“May mga nakita na kaming ganito at pinababalik namin. At may mga nagbalik na rin. Meron ring nagtext sa amin na hindi na nila kukunin ang amelioration,” Tiangco said.

He earlier announced that he will donate his salary as mayor from April 2020 to June 2022, an amount worth over P3 million, to fund social amelioration aid for his constituents who were not chosen by the Department of Social Welfare and Development as recipients of the P8,000 amelioration benefit for the National Capital Region.

The social amelioration aid targets to help 18 million low income families, but local government units, like Navotas, have lamented that such 18 million estimate is not enough to cover all low income families hit by the work stoppage in many industries due to the quarantine measure imposed to prevent COVID-19 transmission.—AOL, GMA News