Where did P10.4B go? Pacquiao flags corruption in DSWD’s SAP distribution

Senator Manny Pacquiao has flagged alleged irregularities in the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s cash aid distribution under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).

In a virtual press conference, Pacquiao questioned why DSWD allotted P50 billion to the e-wallet firm Starpay for the second tranche of SAP distribution even though the company only had a paid up capital of P62,000.

Starpay was among the electronic money issuers (EMI) tapped by DSWD to distribute cash aid to poor Filipinos who were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A bigger red flag for Pacquiao were the alleged discrepancies in the records of the SAP beneficiaries and those who received the money.

He claimed only 500,000 SAP beneficiaries received financial aid from StarPay since the company’s app was needed to withdraw the money.

However, Pacquiao said records showed a total of 1.8 million SAP beneficiaries received money from StarPay.

“Ang tanong ko po: Anong nangyari sa 1.3 million katao na hindi naka-download ng Starpay app ngunit sa record nakatanggap na sila ng ayuda?” he asked.

Pacquiao said P10.4 billion in SAP funds were allegedly missing due to the disparities in Starpay and DSWD’s records.

The senator, who is set to leave for the United States for his boxing match against Errol Spence Jr., said he will soon file a resolution to have the alleged corruption in DSWD investigated by the Senate blue ribbon committee.

“Exciting itong investigation na ito dahil abangan niyo kung sino ang mga sangkot,” Pacquiao said when asked to give details on the personalities involved in the issue.

The eight-division world boxing champ spilled the beans on the alleged corruption in DSWD in response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s challenge for him to name government agencies where wrongdoing exists.

Duterte said in a speech earlier this week that he will tell people not to vote for Pacquiao in the 2022 elections if the senator doesn’t accept his challenge.

Pacquiao is widely believed to be running for presidency next year.

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Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)