DEPARTMENT OF Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Monday reiterated that tampering or repacking of the agency’s family food packs (FFPs) is illegal.
In a press briefing at the DSWD Central Office in Quezon City, Gatchalian said the agency is looking into the "veracity of complaints received through email, and other complaints that may arise."
“Hahabulin namin kayo. Ang mga benepisyo, ang mga ayudang mula sa pamahalaan (We will run after you. Benefits, or aid coming from the government), whether it’s cash, or whether it’s in kind like family food packs, ibinibigay yan ng buo. Walang may karapatan na bawasan ang laman nun (it is given in full. Nobody has the right to reduce it),” he stressed.
He added that FFP boxes come with a DSWD seal and have a specified number of contents.
One box of FFP contains six kilograms of rice, four pieces of canned tuna, two canned sardines, four cans of corned beef, five sachets of 3-in-1 coffee and five sachets of cereal drink.
“Dapat ganun ang makukuha mo, walang kulang (That’s what should be received, nothing less),” Gatchalian said.
“We hope that through this warning, we will be able to ensure that all the eligible beneficiaries will receive the correct quality and quantity of goods that are rightfully theirs,” he said.
Earlier this month, Alexandra Montilla, a resident of Marilao, Bulacan filed a complaint against Mayor Henry Lutao, Vice Mayor Jun Bob de la Cruz and several other officials of the town before the Office of the Ombudsman over the alleged illegal repacking of FFPs from the DSWD intended for victims of floods due to Typhoon Carina and the enhanced southwest monsoon.
Under Section 19 of Republic Act (RA) No. 10121, or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Act of 2010, certain acts are prohibited and those who commit them will be held liable and be subjected to the penalties as prescribed in Section 20 of the same law.
The prohibited acts include diverting or misdelivering of relief goods, equipment, or other aid commodities to persons other than the rightful recipient or consignee; accepting, possessing, using, or disposing relief goods, equipment, or other aid commodities not intended for nor consigned to him/her.
Another prohibited act is misrepresenting the source of relief goods, equipment or other aid commodities by either covering, replacing or defacing the labels of the containers to make it appear that the goods, equipment or other aid commodities came from another agency or persons; repacking the goods, equipment or other aid commodities into containers with different markings to make it appear that the goods came from another agency or persons or was released upon the instance of a particular agency or persons.
Violators of the law may face a fine ranging from PHP 50,000 to PHP 500,000 or imprisonment of six years up to 12 years, or both at the discretion of the court, including perpetual disqualification from public office if the offender is a public officer, and confiscation or forfeiture in favor of the government of the objects and the instrumentalities used in committing any of the prohibited acts. (Jose Cielito Reganit)
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