DILG says no complaints about aid distribution, but Duterte tells OIC to keep monitoring

The Department of the Interior and Local Government on Monday said that it has received no complaints about the distribution of cash aid amid the strict lockdown in the NCR Plus bubble, but President Rodrigo Duterte still instructed the agency to monitor and make the rounds, saying he has seen complaints aired on TV.

During the President's regular Talk to the People briefing aired Monday night, DILG officer in charge Undersecretary Bernardo Florece Jr. said that the department has not received any complaints about the distribution of cash assistance or ayuda in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal—the so-called NCR Plus bubble—in enhanced community quarantine.

"So far, there are no complaints that we are receiving, because it's very easy to monitor and account, since these are being given in cash at P1,000 per individual," Florece said. He explained that mayors had been given the discretion to choose between giving the ayuda in cash or in kind, and that only one mayor—that of Calauan, Laguna—chose to give the aid in kind.

The President, however, said that he had seen news reports that showed people complaining about the cash aid distribution, citing GMA's Dobol B TV.

"I also rely on the news as reported by the TV. Itong sa Dobol B, maraming nagreklamo na [on Dobol B, many are complaining], so, ask your field offices to try to make the rounds and investigate if these allegations are true," Duterte said.

"Sabi mo nga as of now malinis then I'll take it [As you said as of now it's clean, so I'll take it], but with another caveat that continue to monitor through your field offices...I do not have any reason to doubt the mayors, lalo na yung malalaki [especially the big ones]," Duterte also said, adding that "just the same," the DILG should check reports of complaints.

Florece said again that the department has not received any complaints.

"All of our undersecretaries and assistant secretaries as well as directors ay sila po sir ang nagmo-monitor sa lahat ng LGUs, umiikot po sila araw-araw, and so far wala kami sir natanggap na complaints," he said.

[All of our undersecretaries and assistant secretaries as well as directors are the ones monitoring all the LGUs, they  make the rounds every day, and so far we have not received any complaints.]

Many Metro Manila residents reported having to wait for hours in long lines to receive the cash assistance, with distribution in some areas reportedly starting later than scheduled and some local government workers failing to accommodate the volume of people at the venues.

On Monday the ECQ in the NCR Plus bubble was downgraded to a modified enhanced community quarantine. — BM, GMA News