The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Monday said some 183 barangay officials are under investigation by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) for alleged graft and corruption in the distribution of the social amelioration program (SAP).

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said following the president’s announcement of a P30,000 reward for every confirmed incident of barangay officials involved in corruption in SAP financial aid distribution, complaints poured in the DILG and DSWD hotlines.

Thus, PNP-CIDG began investigating 183 barangay officials, said Año.

“We received a lot of complaints. The police are already investigating the 183 (complaints) as it may have possible probable cause. Our policemen will not stop until these barangay officials, who are the real virus in the society, are not arrested. These are the kinds of arrests that the PNP wants to conduct as they are also mad at corrupt local officials,” Año said.

Año said the identities of the 183 barangay officials cannot be disclosed yet as investigations are underway.

Año said there are multiple complaints directed to the same barangay official leading to the piling up of accumulated reports but they are now sorting them out to pinpoint cases that have basis.

“I’m warning you, if you are thinking of pocketing the assistance for your constituents, we will come after you,” he added.

Año said as early as the first week of May, arrests of corrupt barangay officials began starting with the barangay councilor from Hagonoy, Bulacan who was mentioned by President Rodrigo Duterte in a public address.

Barangay captain Maria Luz Leal Ferrer of Barangay 8 in Isabela, Negros Occidental was also charged by the PNP for alleged anomalies in distributing the government’s SAP financial aid.

The DILG has recently ordered the PNP and requested the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to give priority in investigating reports of graft and corruption in the distribution of SAP financial assistance in the community. Ella Dionisio/DMS