THE 36 village chiefs in Bacolod City are hopeful that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will monitor the activities of the current administration.
The 36 village chiefs, represented by Bernabe Sibug of Barangay 7, submitted their manifesto on May 2 to DILG-Bacolod, questioning the current leadership of the City Government for granting financial assistance to only 25 village leaders, ranging from P140,000 to P320,000.
These are Barangays 3, 5, 8, 9, 13, 17, 23, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 35, 39, 41, Vista Alegre, Taculing, Sum-ag, Singcang-Airport, Punta Taytay, Pahanocoy, Mandalagan, Felisa, Cabug, and Alijis.
In their manifesto, the said barangay captains questioned the alleged selective release of garbage share, the extension of financial aid and other services such as burial and medical assistance from the city has bypassed certain Punong Barangays in granting referrals and certifications and those who are not allies were deprived of such authority to refer and endorse, and the hiring of thousands of job order casuals beginning March 2018 also benefited the favored 25 barangays.
Sibug said they will also submit a copy of their manifesto to the Office of Commission on Election (Comelec) today and another copy to the Office of President Rodrigo Duterte.
"We want to inform the DILG, Comelec and the Office of the President on what is happening now in Bacolod since it's already Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections time," he said.
They said they felt insulted why only 25 barangays in the city will benefit from the said financial assistance which they believed is the administration's party's way to lure votes for their allied barangay leaders who sought re-election.
There were so many barangays which did not even receive their Annual Investment Plan (AIP) since 2016, their Real Property Tax (RPT) share and garbage fee, Sibug said.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia earlier said that these barangays requested the financial assistance and it also passed in the right process like in the Budget Office, Accounting, City Engineer's Office and the City Council.
He said these are only the allegations of the 36 barangay captains.
"If they want to request financial assistance, the city is open and they should also comply with the requirements like the liquidation, among others. I also have friendly barangay captains who failed to receive assistance because they failed to liquidate, we are not selective about the city's programs," Leonardia said.
Leonardia also explained that the hiring of job order casuals is to help the Bacoleños sustain their families for the opening of classes this year.
"So we find nothing irregular here at all and it's not for the 25 barangays only," the mayor said.
Leonardia pointed out that there is someone behind the 36 barangay captains who want to run for the next elections.
Cibug also countered that they were not informed that the City Government will distribute financial assistance for the barangays.
"We were not informed so we did not make a request," he said.
