ESA masterlist bared, earns complaints and criticisms

ORMOC CITY – The name of the mayor’s brother. A practicing lawyer with a Toyota Fortuner. High-income earners living in subdivisions like Camella Homes. The sibling of a barangay councilor who is allegedly not a resident of the barangay.  Names of victims with totally damaged houses delisted, or now listed under “partially damaged”; and those who’ve signed up for relocations included.

These are drawing complaints from residents here, after the “masterlist” of the Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) was released to the barangays on Wednesday, April 8. This, after the Department of Social Welfare and Development asked their city counterpart to make public the list, as provided for in the guidelines.

Social media comes into play

The masterlist of Brgy. Cogon, Ormoc’s most populous barangay, immediately made its way to Facebook. On Page 4, No. 168, is the name of Eufrocino Capahi Codilla, presumably the eldest brother of Mayor Edward Codilla, whose middle name is also Capahi.

On Page 6 is the name of Atty. Adelito Solibaga, anchorman of the radio talk show “Krusada”, who has been harping that the list should be made public.

In recapitulation of what he aired over “Krusada” on Friday, April 10, Solibaga told the EV Mail he would not accept the ESA, not because he does not need money, but because getting it would deprive the people who needed it more.

Aside from this, he said, to receive it would be condoning graft and corruption because the guidelines for giving out the ESA was not followed in his case. Under the guidelines, Solibaga is not a qualified beneficiary. The lawyer rents an apartment at Brgy. Cogon. It suffered minimal damage but his Toyota Fortuner, just a few months old when Yolanda hit in November 8, 2013, was not as lucky. Its rear windshield got smashed.

He also opined that the fact that his name appears on the list highlights the fact that the city social welfare and development office (CSWDO) did not do its work properly.

Other “masterlists” have also been posted on Facebook like that of District 19, which included two pages that was supposed to be for Brgy. Curva, more than 20 kilometers away.

Brgy. Alta Vista’s, too, was posted, with the names of allegedly dubious recipients, highlighted in yellow.

To recall, Congress appropriated a total funding of P 689-million for Ormoc City, based on the funding requirement for ESA submitting by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (OPARR) to Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III. This is for around 42,000 damaged households, both partial and total, that would get financial assistance of P 10,000.00 and P 30,000.00, respectively.

However, Mayor Edward Codilla wanted 53,000 households funded, proposing that those listed as “partially” gets the full P 10,000.00, while those with “totally damaged” houses will get P 15,000 each only.

Regional director Nestor Ramos, in a meeting with the city council over the issue, said that the Mayor’s proposal had the “blessings” of DSWD Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman. Until now, however, there is now written approval from the Secretary which would amend her won MC 24 S. of November 2014.

In the same meeting, Ramos also said that the “masterlist” should be made public, so that the “culling” process can take place. Over the radio, Marietta Legaspi, city social welfare officer, however, said she will not have it posted because it would create “chaos” but obviously, Ramos prevailed.

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Source: EVMail News http://ift.tt/WbKhRf