Charges eyed vs Dinky over wasted relief goods

Amilitant labor group is now pushing for the filing of criminal charges against Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman for allegedly allowing food donations for victims of typhoon Ruby in Leyte to rot.

“We demand accountability for this crime of denying available food to hungry Filipinos. We believe that Soliman should be charged and jailed over this crime... She is a criminal worthy of a jail term,” Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) chairperson Elmer Labog said in a statement.

This comes on the heels of the Soliman’s admission last Thursday DSWD was forced to dump 284 sacks of rice Barangay Macaalang in Dagami, Leyte since the food was already not fit for consumption.

In a related development, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. yesterday said the DSWD is doing everything it can to strengthen its capacity to safeguard relief goods intended to those severely affected by natural calamities.

To augment this capacity, Coloma said a groundbreaking ceremony was held the previous week for the construction of a new warehouse at DSWD’s National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in partnership with the Australian government.

Aside from the rice wastage, the Commission on Audit (COA) also released reports of other food spoilage from DSWD in 2013 worth 2.8 million 2014 worth 141 million.

“The spoilage of rice and other food items under the DSWD’s control seriously puts into question the DSWD’s policy of requiring victims to present a cedula or commuity tax certificate before giving them relief goods,” Labog said.

The labor leader claimed Soliman may have deliberately hoarded the food to use it to win over voters for the 2016 elections.

“We could only surmise that the DSWD refused to release the food stuff not because it wanted to warehouse these for future disasters, but because it intended to use these for the upcoming elections,” Labog said.

“It is also an injustice to all bighearted Filipinos and peoples of all nationalities who gave donations to help alleviate the suffering of Filipinos who were badly hit by disasters,” he added.

Coloma said as soon as Soliman received reports about the spoiled rice in Leyte, she immediately ordered its disposal because it was already unfit for human consumption.

He said Soliman also ordered that an investigation be immediately conducted for those DSWD personnel who may have failed in their duties and neglected their responsibilities in ensuring that the relief goods remain safe.