The Philippine National Police(PNP) charges 301 barangay officials and now facing criminal complaints due to alleged corruption of the cash aid from the Social Amelioration Program said the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Wednesday.

“Hindi po hihinto ang DILG at ang PNP sa paghabol sa mga kurakot na barangay, LGU officials, at personnel na ito,” said the DILG spokesman Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya in a press statement.

“Secretary (Eduardo) Año has personally directed the PNP to ensure that cases are filed para maparusahan ang mga ito sapagkat talaga namang nakakagalit na sa panahon ng krisis kung kailan kailangang kailangan ng ating mga kababayan ng tulong ay nagagawa pa nilang manloko ng mga kabarangay nila,” he added.

According to Malaya, the village officials were charged for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, and RA 11332 or Law on Reporting of Communicable Diseases.

He added that more criminal cases will be filed as the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) are undertaking case buildup against 76 other barangay officials for alleged corruption in SAP payout.

As of latest data, Malaya said the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group had received a total of 381 complaints regarding the supposed corrupt practices of barangay officials.

The barangay officials who were facing criminal complaints are barangay chairpersons and kagawads. There are also barangay secretaries, health workers, treasurers, SK chairman, and even officials and employees of localities who were slapped with complaints.

The DILG continues to urge the public to report anomalies in the SAP aid distribution as the agency also prepares for handling the second tranche to beneficiaries this month.

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