DSWD probes aid deduction complaints

(UPDATES) THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is looking into complaints that a local official withheld a big part of the cash aid given by the agency for "individuals in crisis situations."

"Firstly, it is important that we get the details of the incident so we can make the necessary investigation," DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said.

"We treat this again as an isolated case [because] there's only one complainant pertaining to the issue. Of course, we cannot generalize that this is happening in the entire region," she added.

According to the most recent DSWD report, a supposed coordinator working for a local official allegedly deducted P9,300 from the P10,000 financial assistance given to three beneficiaries of the DSWD's Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program in Cagayan de Oro City.

Dumlao said the agency, through its Northern Mindanao Field Office, would coordinate with the complainants and support them in filing the necessary case against the alleged offender.

"Just like what we have done in the aid deduction incident in Davao, we will do the same in this isolated case in Northern Mindanao," Dumlao said.

"We will assist the clients, and we will make sure that the appropriate charges will be filed against the individual who is found to have withheld the cash assistance," she added.

Dumlao also renewed the agency's warning to everyone planning to commit the illegal act of deducting grants received by AICS beneficiaries.

DSWD Secretary Rexlon Gatchalian has said that anyone involved in aid deductions would face the most severe consequences.