Liloan brgy workers can still get aid

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu Vice Governor Agnes Magpale refuted claims that the Capitol is withholding the cash incentives of the barangay workers of Liloan town, Cebu.

She even cried foul over schemes that some people are making up to disrupt the distribution scheduled at the town last March 8 Friday.

Magpale clarified that Liloan barangay workers can still receive their cash incentives after the Capitol finish the scheduled distributions in the other towns and component cities.

“After all (the scheduled distribution) ug mahuman na ang tanan, maghimo na sad sila og payroll aron makadawat sila. But it’s going to be a tedious process. It will take long kay tiwason pa man tanan and i-uli ang kuwang,” she told reporters on Thursday.

There are still remaining towns that are scheduled for distribution such as the four towns in Camotes Islands and the towns of San Fernando, Medellin, and Daanbantayan.

She explained that the disbursements of these cash incentives, which are taken as cash advances, go through a thorough and systematic process.

Before another cash advances will be released for the next town, the distributed incentives from the previous town have to be liquidated first. Failure of such cannot allow the Capitol to release the cash advances for the succeeding towns.

“It also entails of a lot of logistical needs. The cashier, accommodation, and the food just (for Capitol officers) to go there and then they were not there. Of course, it saddens you,” she said.

She said this program has been conducted yearly but it is only this election season that this problem occurred.

She warned the barangay officials and workers to only believe a written communication from the Capitol. She said she made sure that the town would know and the provincial government even wrote a letter to Mayor Christina Frasco to help in the dissemination.

She said one barangay official from Liloan disclosed to the Capitol officials that text messages were relayed to them informing them that the distribution at the town was moved to other time and dates.

This caused confusion to the barangay workers. That is why some went to the Capitol last Monday, March 11.

She also said she received reports that the workers were discouraged to show up during the March 8 distribution there.

“Kami wala gyud mi namulitika niini and we can cite with you instances, but we were told… we were told that some barangay captains were instructed not to let their BHW’s (barangay health workers) and tanods to go and collect,” she said.

Magpale could still not determine who are behind this. — MBG (FREEMAN)