The Victorias City council in Negros Occidental has passed an ordinance seeking to curb corruption and abuse in the distribution of government social assistance to Victoriasanons.
Authored by Vice Mayor Francis Frederick Palanca, the Social Assistance Monitoring and Transparency Ordinance establishes the Local Social Assistance Monitoring Team tasked to monitor, document and ensure transparency in all assistance payouts conducted within Victorias City.
The city council enacted the ordinance on its third and final reading during a special session held on Monday, December 15, days after Mayor Abelardo Bantug III ordered the City Social Welfare and Development Office to conduct an investigation on the controversial distribution of cash aid under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) in Barangay 21.
“In the interest of the public, we need to act swiftly. We have received complaints, and we are compelled to act,” Palanca said in an interview.
The ordinance cited reports of manipulation, unauthorized deductions and fraudulent practices during assistance payouts.
The city government is assisting at least 150 individuals who expressed interest in filing complaints.
“This ordinance establishes clear safeguards to prevent monetary solicitations, unauthorized deductions, and other abusive practices during social assistance payouts, and to hold accountable those who exploit beneficiaries for personal gain,” Palanca said.
The ordinance requires any national government office or agency intending to conduct an assistance payout to notify the Office of the City Mayor in writing or through official electronic communication at least three working days before the scheduled payout.
During all assistance payouts, the implementing agency or entity is also required to prominently display specified information in a location visible to all beneficiaries and make a public announcement informing beneficiaries of their full entitlements, their rights, and how to file complaints at the start of the payout.
Violators shall be subject to administrative and criminal liabilities, with close coordination with appropriate authorities, including the Office of the Ombudsman, in addition to the penalties provided by law.
“This measure affirms our commitment to a government that is clean, accountable and morally upright. Let’s make sure that the assistance for those in need is never reduced and not abused,” Palanca said.
Victorias City resident Jonas Brian Librodo, who helped expose the irregularities in the AICS payout, welcomed the passage of the ordinance.
“An ordinance has now been enacted to ensure public assistance reaches those who truly need it — intact, fair, and without abuse. Corruption has no place in Victorias. No matter who you are, how rich or influential, we will expose all forms of wrongdoing,” he added.
Librodo lauded the residents of Barangay 21 for their courage in exposing the irregularities, which prompted swift action from the mayor and the city council. (PNA)