DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 12, 2013) – The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan has strongly criticized the Department of Social Welfare and Development for putting up a two-page advertisements in national and local newspapers and branded it as shameful.
The umbrella organization of progressive groups said the advertisements are nothing but an “act of saving face” and a “shameful, implicit admission of inefficiency.” It said the DSWD was “lavish yet ineffective attempt to redeem its sagging credibility.”
“It is easy to list down accomplishments, tabulate figures and advertise using the people’s money. But the question is, were those figures translated into tangible services, and were it free from corruption?” asked Sheena Duazo, Bayan spokesperson for Southern Mindanao.
Duazo said the efficiency in service of the DSWD under Secretary Corazon Soliman can be best gauged with the condition of the typhoon victims. The advertisements came out following a series of rallies by victims of typhoons in Mindanao who were protesting the DSWD’s failure to distribute humanitarian aid and other scandals that hit the agency.
“Why did Soliman have to wait for the victims to hold a barricade in Compostela Valley province and for them to confiscate the relief goods in Davao City? Why only now when Cristina Jose had already been killed?” Duazo asked.
Jose was one of the leaders of those who led the protests. She was killed this month by motorcycle gunmen.
“Soliman is not credible to speak of people empowerment because of her department’s inept delivery of relief and rehabilitation service and the corruption issues hounding her,” Duazo said.
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