DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman clears issues, says she will not run for 2016
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Professor Solita Monsod, in an interview for “Bawal ang Pasaway,” describes Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Dinky Soliman as the ‘flavor of the month’ due to the various controversies thrown at her and her office.
Some of the issues attributed to her are the donations for the Special Action Forces and the findings of the Commission on Audit for 2013. What does Sec. Soliman have to say about these
Let’s hear it straight from her in this article.
Donations for the #Fallen 44
Last January 30, the DSWD opened a bank account dedicated to donations for the 44 Special Action Forces commandos who were killed in the Mamasapano clash. According to Sec. Soliman, the directive to open the account came directly from President Aquino.
“Hindi ho kami humihingi, ibig [kong] sabihin, hindi kami actively na nananawagan na mag-donate kaya lang marami ang gustong tumulong at ang aming ahensiya sa buong gobyerno ang may karapatan na tumanggap at magiging tax deductible ang kanilang ibibigay,” Sec. Soliman added.
Also, Sec. Soliman says that the Landbank account for the Fallen 44 is separate from all the other bank accounts of the department that has to do with their relief operations and projects. Furthermore, Sec. Soliman assures the public that the donations will not be used for other purposes and that they will be transparent in the process of collecting donations.
“Gaya ng iba pang donations sa DSWD, naka-post sa website [ng DSWD kung] magkano na ang pumasok at saan namin ginastos ito. Dagdag pa riyan, may audit trail ‘yan dahil ino-audit lahat ng donations sa atin,” Sec. Soliman said.
For those who would like to donate to the families of the 44 SAF, you may place your donations here:
Landbank of the Philippines (LBP)
Account Name: “DSWD- Armed Conflict Mamasapano,Maguindanao”
LBP Current Account Number (CA) No. 3122-1026-28
Hiding street dwellers during Papal Visit
When Pope Francis came to the Philippines for a papal and state visit, others noticed the absence of some street dwellers and informal settlers in Manila. It was then discovered that the DSWD was the one who allegedly hid them from the Pope.
In her defense, Sec. Soliman says, “Hindi po namin sila ni-round up. Ang isa [kasing] nakita na magiging vulnerable sa [dagsa ng] mga tao [sa pagbisita ng Santo Papa], ay ‘yung mga nakatira sa kalsada at seawall. Kaya pinag-usapan na kailangan ilagay natin sila sa isang maayos na lugar.”
Because of this, the DSWD brought the homeless families to a resort in Batangas to attend a family camp, which according to Sec. Soliman, is already a project of the agency since 2011.
During the event, the DSWD took the chance to orient the families about the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer (MCCT), a project under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (PPPP) dedicated to assist homeless Filipinos.
Aside from the orientation, the family camp also gave 100 families who joined the family camp, the privilege to experience a normal life- a complete family living under the same roof.
The question now is, why does the DSWD have to do it in a resort? Isn’t it too expensive and luxurious?
“Ang bawat tao, [ang cost ng accommodation niya] is P 1, 190 per day. Tayo kasi ay may procurement law, we’re only allowed [to allot] P 1,300 or P 1, 200 kada tao so we were way below [the budget]. Anim [na resorts] ang nag-bid diyan at itong Royal Chateau ang responsive and reasonable ang rate,” Sec. Soliman said.
She also added, “Ito ‘yung karanasan na nais namin sanang maibahagi sa mga kabayang nakatira sa kalsada para maisip nila na puwede pala ‘yung ganitong buhay. Kasi ang kasunod nu’n pagbalik nila, out of the 100, 44 ang may bahay na.”
The houses Sec. Soliman refers to are those they built for the homeless families located in low income areas in Metro Manila which the families can rent for P 4, 000 per month. To be able to pay for the rent, DSWD would offer the families skills-training or a small business to capitalize on.
Findings of the COA report for 2013
Last December of 2013 the Commission on Audit released a report about the DSWD which contains a lot of discrepancies as to the programs and expenditures of the department.
According to the COA report, 84 273 households registered to the PPPP are actually non-poor and therefore, should not have been included in the program.
Sec. Soliman said, “N’ung hiningi namin ‘yung kanilang listahan para ma-check sa aming listahan, ang ibinigay po nilang pangalan ay 21, 000 [lang]. Nagkamali lang daw sila.”
In an interview with COA Commissioner Heidi Mendoza, she said, “Mahirap kasing magkaroon ng isang perpektong listahan. Karamihan [kasi] sa mga mahihirap ng lungsod, palipat-lipat ‘yan ‘di ba?”
After the COA report, the DSWD also validated the households listed in their PPPP and discovered that only 28 of them are really not poor.
Sec. Soliman added, “Ginagalang namin ang responsibilidad ng COA na i-audit kami. Ang nagiging tanungan lang namin, noong nilalabas nila sa website ‘yung kanilang report [noong December 2003], hindi nila nilalabas ‘yung aming sagot sa observation nila. Kapag hindi sila naniwala sa sagot namin, ang kasunod nu’n is a notice of disallowance at wala kaming [natatanggap na] notice of disallowance [from COA].
COA Commissioner Mendoza answered saying, “Pagkasagot nila [sa aming report], siyempre hindi naman agad natin basta-basta tatanggapin ‘yung sagot. Mag-uusap kami at amin munang titingnan, iva-validate ang katiyakan noong mga sagot, ng mga bilang na ibinigay nila sa amin."
Seeking higher office in 2016
During Mareng Winnie’s interview, she noticed that Sec. Dinky Soliman was very comfortable in answering all her questions as if they were not big accusations.
“Bakit parang kapag nagsasalita kayo, kasimple-simple lang pero kapag nasa newspaper, Diyos ko, itong Satanas na ito, the lying Dinky Soliman, etc [ang ipinapangalan sa inyo],” Mareng Winnie said.
The question that popped off Mareng Winnie’s head then is, why are all of Sec. Soliman’s actions and programs in DSWD being attacked? Does she have a plan to run for the 2016 elections which makes her a target of character assassination?
Sec. Soliman left us with this statement, “Hindi po ako tatakbo sa 2016 para sa [anomang] puwesto nang kandidatura.” - Gerald Vista/BMS