Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian explained on Monday why the agency continues to distribute financial aid manually, despite having the capacity to digitize the process.
“We have to have a form of validation and verification dahil ito ang unang bugso. Kailangan makita namin, una, totoong mga tao ba ito? Pangalawa, itong mga taong ito ba ay totoong mga driver,” Gatchalian said during a press briefing on March 30.
He emphasized that the initial manual step is crucial for verifying the identity and eligibility of beneficiaries before moving to digital processes.
“Tinatanong kami bakit hindi na lang namin gawing digital? Kaya namin gawing digital ito, napakadali… pero this first step is really meant for validation and verification,” he added.
Through this verification process, Gatchalian said, the agency can prevent duplicate aid distribution and assess the actual status of each beneficiary.
“Pag nag-special payout tayo…at di pa rin sila pumunta, then alam natin these are either inactive drivers, baka namatay na, baja nasa abroad na,” he noted.
Gatchalian also assured the public that no duplicate distributions have been recorded so far.
“The best of our abilities… wala kaming alam na duplicate kasi dalawa ang nagsusuri,” he explained.
Finally, he encouraged the public to report any issues or complaints regarding aid distribution, promising swift action.
“We have a very aggressive grievance mechanism. I-report n’yo sa amin, hahabulin namin,” Gatchalian said.