After President Rodrigo Duterte addressed the nation Monday night, May 4, 2020, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque has offered on national television a P30,000 reward for any information exposing corrupt local government officials amid the COVID-19 crisis.
He announced shortly after the President’s closing remarks, “Sa kagustuhan po ng ating pangulo na matigil ang pangungurakot sa SAP at iba pang ayuda ng gobyerno [tulad ng] ginawa po ni kagawad Danilo Flores ng Hagonoy, Bulacan, siya po ay magbibigay ng pabuya na P30,000 sa lahat po ng magre-report ng mga local officials na kinukurakot ang mga ayuda para po sa mahihirap.”
The witch-hunt comes after the arrest of Barangay San Agustin’s councilor last Saturday, May 2, for graft allegations. Reportedly, Danilo Flores, 66, was collecting more than half of the P6,500 cash aid under the government’s special amelioration program (SAP) in response to the pandemic.
The said corruption was caught on video with Flores claiming that SAP cash aid recipients are only entitled to P3,000; the remaining P3,500, according to him, is meant for the town mayor for distribution to non-SAP beneficiaries.
The now-viral video on Facebook was posted by Lhon Villamayor Perez on April 27 and has garnered over 3.6K shares as of writing.
In response, Mayor Raulito Manlapaz has denied any involvement in Flores’ claims about the irregularities in the SAP cash aid distribution.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque urges the public to report any incidents involving corruption among local government officials by calling 8888, the government’s 24/7 national public service hotline.
This is in line with the President’s “zero tolerance” against corruption, he adds.
For more stories on COVID-19, please click here.