THE Office of the Vice President (OVP) yesterday belied Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian’s claim that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has accommodated all the OVP’s referrals, calling it “inaccurate and misleading.”
“While such statements may paint a picture of seamless coordination between our two offices, the reality on the ground tells a different story,” Norman Baloro, OVP’s director for operations, said in a statement.
“There had been several instances when OVP referrals were declined. An example of this was a request for assistance to an identified group of individuals whose livelihood were affected due to the African Swine Flu virus. The request was denied because the DSWD claimed that they cannot do ‘mass payout,’ and yet they are able to do it in other areas, together with other politicians,” Baloro said.
He also said there are “clear evidence from various OVP satellite offices that some clients referred by the OVP have been left unattended by various regional offices of the DSWD.”
“Isa lamang dito ay mayroong 7,056 pending applications para sa Assistance for Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) at 2,597 pending applications para sa Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) ang nai-refer ng OVP Panay and Negros Islands satellite office sa DSWD Field Office-VI na hanggang ngayon ay wala pa ring naiaabot na assistance (For one, 7,056 applications for AICS and 2,597 pending applications for SLP were referred by the OVP Panay and Negros Islands satellite office to the DSWD Field Office-V, which until now, has not given any assistance),” he said.
Baloro said the list of OVP’s identified beneficiaries in Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor likewise keep on returning to OVP satellite offices “because they have not received anything from the DSWD.”
“There is no clear explanation provided by the DSWD to the OVP referred clients from the satellite offices on the delay or inaction on the requests. To dismiss these unserved clients is to ignore the real challenges many Filipinos face in accessing social services. We call for DSWD’s immediate action to address these gaps and fulfill the government’s obligation to provide aid to every Filipino,” Baloro said.
Vice President Sara Duterte had used the DSWD denial of her office’s endorsements due to politics to justify her request for P1.909 billion for socio-economic programs, such as medical and burial assistance, disaster operations, food bags for families affected by disasters, and livelihood assistance.
Gatchalian, during the Senate’s budget hearing on Monday, told senators that all requests for assistance from the OVP were accommodated, which he said can be proven by the exchanges of text messages between the two agencies’ point persons.
Gatchalian said the Vice President’s allegations were baseless, adding that he can provide the Senate copies of the screenshots of the text exchanges “but we have to ask permission from Director Norman if he will also consent.”
He also said the OVP has even awarded the DSWD with a plaque of recognition acknowledging it as its “valued partner.” He also promised to submit to the Senate a photo of the plaque.
The House of Representatives earlier slashed by 63 percent the OVP’s budget and realigned its socio-economic funding request to the DSWD and the Department of Health, citing as one of the reasons the OVP’s duplication of the DSWD’s functions.
The OVP is asking for a P2.037 billion budget for next year.
It was Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros who first noted the P1.909 billion OVP budget request for socio-economic programs, such as medical and burial assistance, disaster operations, food bags for certain families, and livelihood assistance.
