De-politicizing aid

As with anything involving public funds, the common question among Filipinos, after the announcement of a P200-billion fund for those with the greatest need for assistance in this pandemic, was how the aid would be distributed.

That’s a lot of people’s money. Who identifies the beneficiaries, and how will the money be distributed?

If we had a fully digitized national identification system in place, with universal coverage, and with the required efficient tech infrastructure, people can apply online for inclusion as a beneficiary, and collect the money over two months through ATMs.

But that’s the ideal situation. In our developing country, the government has no choice but to rely on local government units (LGUs) and the grassroots network of the barangays to help implement the assistance package over two months.

Why two months? This is the period during which business groups are proposing the gradual easing of the enhanced community quarantine, to allow economic activities to resume slowly while at the same time maintaining physical distancing and related health safety measures.

We all know how it is in our country: politicians, especially those who have been in power for a long time, treat public coffers as their personal piggy bank. Every crisis, every calamity that calls for the distribution of relief aid, is seen as an opportunity for epal or credit-grabbing and self-aggrandizement at taxpayers’ expense. The most shameless kapalmuks epals even place their names and faces on government relief items.

Fortunately, the suffering from the quarantine is fueling an ever-growing resentment against the abuses and entitlements of public officials, from the barangays all the way to the upper tiers of government.

Thanks to social media, it has become easy to disseminate the resentment and condemnation. And thanks to technology at the fingertips of nearly everyone, it has also become just as easy to document abuses and incompetence in the time of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic.

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Our government structure, however, cannot completely exclude LGUs and barangay officials from involvement in the distribution of assistance to their constituents.

Late last Wednesday night, President Duterte, in an unscheduled address to the nation, stripped LGU officials including barangay personnel of the lead role in the distribution of national assistance to COVID-affected people.

This refers to the P200-billion aid, but not to local quick-response programs of the LGUs, which local executives can continue dispensing. 

Duterte’s order, as he himself pointed out, is meant to prevent politicians from using the emergency aid for patronage. He should make sure the message is received loud and clear even by his allies, several of whom are among the country’s top epals.

Politics could come in at the identification stage itself. Even with the conditional cash transfer or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the original idea was to keep politicians’ dirty paws off the program by giving the role of identifying qualified beneficiaries to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The World Bank Group, the biggest financial supporter of the program, had warned that it would pull out if politics would be injected into any aspect of the 4Ps.

The cash transfer is done through ATMs, without middlemen, so 4Ps beneficiaries would not feel beholden to any government official.

In previous elections, however, there were reports of 4Ps beneficiaries complaining that they were delisted by barangay officials for refusing to support certain candidates. Barangay officials are supposed to be apolitical during elections.

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This time, the DSWD has again been tasked to handle the disbursement of the P200-billion aid, in coordination with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases or IATF. The list of beneficiaries for the 4Ps plus the unconditional cash transfers will serve as the starting point. Voters’ lists may also be used – the reason there was concern that local government and barangay officials would get back at residents of areas where they lost by withholding or slowing down the release of aid.

Inevitably, politics is entering the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Certain politicians who lost in last year’s elections are reportedly agitating protests and mobilizing trolls against their winning opponents. One of the consequences is that genuinely needy people are getting caught in the middle and seeing their assistance derailed.

This problem is compounded by officials who even in normal times behave as if public office makes them masters of the universe and gives them a license to play God. This time, their abuses have disrupted the movement of essential supplies, despite repeated reminders from the IATF to ensure the “unhampered” movement of cargo.

In this period of enhanced community quarantine, the abusive mindset is even rubbing off on officials of certain private homeowners’ associations, who are imposing restrictions beyond the advisories of the IATF.

Even as people understand the need for quarantine measures imposed by the IATF, there is simmering resentment against abusive and epal officials. In impoverished communities, the resentment can be easily exploited by agitators.

The administration is taking pains to prevent public officials from using the emergency as an opportunity for self-aggrandizement, or to abuse their powers and add to public misery. But unscrupulous public officials tend to find a way to circumvent restrictions to their perceived perks of power and sense of entitlement. 

Fortunately, this is a democracy, wherein people understand where politicians derive their power. Abuses and epal activities in this period of deep, protracted suffering aren’t going to be easily forgotten.

A favorite social media message exchanged yesterday, which is encouraging SBMA (sa bahay muna ako) was: “Stay at home & stay healthy!! Alalahanin nyo gaganti pa tayo sa eleksyon!”