Barangay social media accounts creation pushed

 A subcommittee in the House of Representatives suggested that the national government should mandate all barangays to create their respective official accounts on social media to curtail the proliferation of fake news.

According to the Peace and Order Cluster of the Defeat COVID-19 Committee, these accounts would be used for the purpose of disseminating information on the various measures being undertaken by government on the distribution of relief goods and other forms of assistance.

“These social media platforms can also be the means by which constituencies can validate the information they receive, or ask questions and receive answers on issues and other concerns,” the subcommittee stated in its recommendation.

“True and accurate information is a critical factor in combatting the COVID-19 crisis,” it added.

The subpanel said it can also be a means by which citizens can report fake or unofficial accounts that propagate false information to foment confusion and disorder, and make it easier for the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to shut down these accounts.

The accounts shall be maintained by public information officers, wherein the timeliness and accuracy of the information being disseminated should be ensured.

Also recommended was the creation of a Joint Task Force composed of the NBI, NTC and Philippine National Police which shall be tasked to identify persons spreading fake news.

Republic Act 11469, or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, states that individuals spreading false information regarding COVID-19 on social media and other platforms to promote chaos, fear and confusion will be penalized.

The recommendation was signed by Iloilo Rep. Raul “Boboy” Tupas, chairman of the Committee on National Defense and Security and Peace and Order Cluster, and Masbate Rep. Narciso Bravo Jr., chairman of the Committee on Public Order and Safety and Peace and Order Cluster. (Content reposted from Daily Tribune) 


In photo: Above left: Iloilo Rep. Raul “Boboy” Tupas; Above right: Masbate Rep. Narciso Bravo Jr. From their Facebook photos.

DILG Malaya: brgy officials to distribute SAC first to poor sector

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya on Monday, April 14, called on all the barangay officials to distribute the social amelioration card (SAC) forms first to their constituents who belong to the “poorest among the poor’’ sector.

In a press briefing, Malaya made this clear after mounting complaints about the discrepancies in the number of poor families and the problems in the distribution of SAC forms have reached the DILG. The SAC forms are being distributed to the public affected by the lockdown due to the novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). This is to determine the number of families that would be given financial aid by the government with the “poorest among the poor’’ being the target priority group. Malaya warned the barangay officials to shun politics and favoritism in handing out the SAC forms and give them to the qualified beneficiaries based on the guidelines set by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Aside from the poorest among the poor, Malaya said the DSWD has targeted the low income group, informal sector, no work no pay workers, and those with no regular jobs as among the qualified recipients. Expressing his point further, Malaya asked the barangay officials to include in the list the names of those without regular jobs and forward them to the local DSWD office where the roster may be included in the next batch.

Malaya assured the public that the DSWD has committed to secure funds for those qualified recipients who were not included in the initial list of beneficiaries. In the meantime, Malaya said that DILG Secretary Eduardo Año instructed the local government units (LGU) to prioritize the giving of food packs to those qualified beneficiaries who were excluded in the initial list.

Malaya reminded that the barangays may use their extra internal revenue allotment (IRA) given by the government through the “Bayanihan Grant’’ to provide assistance to those not included in the first batch. To prevent confusion, Malaya explained that each region will be given varying amounts of social amelioration program (SAP) benefits. He reminded the barangay officials that the SAP cash grants should be awarded to each low-income family and should not be divided and given to several individuals.

According to Malaya, the amount of SAP “Bayanihan Grants’’ to be given to each low-income family in each region are as follows: P8,000 for National Capital Region; P5,500 for Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Regions 1, and 2; P6,500 for Regions 3 and 4-A; P5,000 for Region 4-B and 5; P6,000 for Regions 6 and 7; P5,000 for Regions 8 and 9; P6,000 for Regions 10 and 11; and P5,000 for CARAGA and BARMM. (Content reposted from Manila Bulletin)

IN PHOTO: DILG undersecretary and spokesman Jonathan Malaya (DILG 10 via PIA / MANILA BULLETIN)

LIKE & SHARE US ON FACEBOOK

Barangays confused over Malacanang aid directives

Barangay Captain Abdul Aziz Natanauan slouched as he sat speaking, staring intently at his phone's camera lens as if to address his constituents, looking them straight in the eye.

“Good morning to all of you, especially to you, Congressman Alan Cayetano,” he said in Filipino, his voice heavy with a Batangueño accent.

“I am a barangay captain. I am struggling to explain to people what you said about all families receiving aid, which is not true,” he said in Filipino.

The barangay captain held the Facebook live address on Sunday, April 5. It has since burst on social media, especially among barangay officials. As of April 8, the video has been viewed 1.1 million times and shared over 96,000 times.

He was reacting to a widely shared Facebook video clip of the House Speaker and staunch Duterte ally saying that social amelioration card (SAC) forms should be given “per household.” SAC forms are the government’s validation tool to determine which families are eligible for P5,000 to P8,000 cash aid through the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.

However, there is a limited and predetermined number of forms, making the act of validation itself selective. Natanauan’s constituents used Cayetano’s video to demand for forms and actual help.

“My request, since it seems that you are not helping our people, is that you shouldn’t add to the problem,” Natanauan said.

The video of Cayetano is only a follow-up to President Rodrigo Duterte’s own announcement after declaring the Luzon lockdown: that people who go hungry should go to their barangay captains.

“Where will people get food? It behooves upon the barangay captain. You barangay captains, listen. This is a mandatory duty. It does not have to have a law," Duterte said in a pre-recorded address aired on Monday, March 16, as coronavirus cases in the country continued to rise.

Natanauan is a barangay captain in Talisay, Batangas. He has to keep watch over around 2,500 families, but based on the government’s count, only 821 SAC forms would be given to them.

Another barangay had it worse.

In Barangay San Luis, Antipolo City, sitio chairpersons have been threatened by their constituents with violence – once with a bolo, another time with a hammer – citing Cayetano’s video too, as they demanded help.

“We want to serve our country, but we don’t want our children to be orphaned or be put in danger while helping our neighbors. Because of this, we are already giving up distributing SAC forms, and we won’t allow ourselves to be a part of this chaotic policy anymore,” they said in Filipino.

The frustrations of the barangay officials aired on social media only revealed the tip of the struggles of local governance under lockdown, where local officials are overwhelmed by the social relief crisis and the spread of the disease, all while being left confused and uncertain by the Duterte government’s policy guidelines.

“The problem is that we weren’t prepared. Day to day, there are new guidelines. When they announced a lockdown, there were problems and questions. They are creating guidelines a piece at a time,” said University of the Philippines professor Maria Ela Atienza in a phone interview with Rappler on Tuesday, April 7.

For the national government, however, the outbreak of the coronavirus is an unprecedented crisis that, whether or not the local governments are prepared, they must face given what they have.

“This is not an ideal situation, but we don’t have any other system aside from people on the ground, the barangay officials,” Department of the Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya told Rappler on April 8. (Read Rappler full story) Photo credit: Rodolfo Palma

Please LIKE and SHARE Barangay Reporter on FACEBOOK.

Street sweeper caused 4 Baguio barangays to lockdown

After the city breezed through 13 straight days of recording no new cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the city government locked down four barangays after a person tested positive of the virus on 10 April 2020.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong ordered the lockdown of Upper and Lower Dagsian, Hillside and Scout Barrio in view of this new infection wherein only essential travels will be allowed.

The new patient, a 46-year-old female street sweeper of Barangay Scout Barrio, is the city’s 15th positive case. She was said to have first experienced symptoms on 3 April and had a check-up on 7 April.

Magalong also directed concerned barangay officials of Upper Dagsian, where the victim lives, to undergo quarantine.

Aggressive contact tracing is now being conducted to round up the patient’s contacts which include some police personnel who are now in isolation, according to Baguio City Police Director Allen Rae Co.

The mayor also ordered the immediate disinfection of the patient’s residence, police station and other areas she visited.

Baguio City now has a total of 15 confirmed patients with nine recoveries and one fatality.  (Read original article) Photo Credit: Daily Tribune

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.  Barangay Reporter is an online news service specializing in barangay news and events nationwide published for anyone who wants to follow developments in the barangays: from barangay officials to other government functionaries,  legislators, policymakers, executives from private corporations and NGOs, educators, students as well as the general public.

We welcome barangay news and events reported directly from the barangays or from other local and national government offices as well as those from the private sector engaged in barangay-related activities.  

Just e-mail us your written materials, photos or videos to: brgyreporter@gmail.com

DISCLAIMER. We do not claim any rights to contents obtained from the various news networks, broadsheets as well as provincial and local periodicals and websites, including government news bureaus.

Except those that are written by our editorial staff, a link directs readers to the primary source of the news that we post but do not own. All rights belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors.

Please LIKE and SHARE Barangay Reporter on FACEBOOK.