The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Field Office-11 (Davao Region) led by Regional Director Atty. Vanessa Goc-Ong accompanies Anne Villarin at the Office of the Ombudsman in the Davao City on Thursday (June 13) to file charges against the barangay officials involved in the cash aid deduction.

Criminal and administrative charges were filed against the chief of Barangay Sinawilan and the barangay kagawad who admitted in a video interview with Brigada News FM Davao that they deducted a large portion of the cash assistance received by Villarin from the DSWD last June 6.

Villarin is the pregnant woman from Sinawilan, Matanao, Davao del Sur who complained in a video that the Php10,000 she received during the Presidential Assistance to Farmers, Fishermen, and their Families (PAFFF) payout on June 6 was reduced by the barangay to Php1,500. In the viral video, she stated that after receiving the cash aid, she was informed that it was mandatory to remit the money to the Barangay Hall of Sinawilan.

The DSWD Field Office-11 vowed to maintain open communication with Villarin throughout the pendency of the case and to assist her as she nears the end-stage of her pregnancy. #