‘Probe DSWD on spoiled relief goods’

MANILA, Philippines – Two women lawmakers have urged the House committee on social welfare to look into the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)’s handling of relief operations amid reports of dumping of relief goods intended for typhoon victims.

Gabriela party-list Rep. Emmerenciana de Jesus cited the reported discovery of 164 sacks of spoiled rice dumped into a pit in Dagami, Tacloban City on Dec. 1.

The spoiled sacks of rice were part of the 3,774 sacks alloted for victims of Typhoon Ruby that hit the country in 2014.

De Jesus said scavengers also discovered food items for victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda that the DSWD allegedly buried in the Palo and Palompon dumps in Leyte in November 2013, February 2014 and March 2014.

She said a Commission on Audit report showed 7,527 food packs amounting to P2.784 million for Yolanda survivors had been spoiled due to improper handling.

Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan said the incidents prove “the lack of foresight and incompetence amounting to neglect of duty and… cruelty of the DSWD.”

“It is cruelty because dumping rice and relief goods shows a deliberate act of depriving the typhoon victims of relief from the government...The DSWD preferred to bury the relief goods rather than distribute them to the needy typhoon victims,” Ilagan said.

De Jesus and Ilagan said the delay in the delivery of services add insult to the injury of the survivors.