The office of former PBA guard and current San Juan City Councilor Paul Artadi is facing criticism over alleged kickbacks in the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) Program payouts in the city.
Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito revealed during his privilege speech at the Senate on Tuesday that he received two videos showing Artadi’s staffers allegedly taking a significant portion of payouts intended for TUPAD beneficiaries.
According to Ejercito, a TUPAD beneficiary from Barangay Balong-bato narrated to him that he was given a transaction code by Artadi’s staff to claim his supposed payout from Palawan Express Pera Padala.
However, the beneficiary was surprised when he was allegedly told by Artadi’s staff that they could only take home P1,000 from the total P7,500 payout, and the remaining balance of P6,500 would be set aside for Artadi’s office and for the Office of the Mayor.
“Kakakuha lang namin ng pera sa TUPAD. Tapos ‘yung nagbigay sa amin ng pera nun-codes Palawan-isa sa may-ari ng inuupahan namin saka staff po siya ni Paul Artadi,” the beneficiary said in the first video played by Ejercito at the Senate.
“Ngayon po, ang sabi sa amin, kapag na-withdraw na namin pera, P1,000 lang daw ‘yung kukunin namin. ‘Yun P6,500 daw ibigay daw sa kanila. Para ‘yun daw kasi kay Mayor,” he added.
“Hindi ko po matanggap ‘yun eh kasi po, ‘yung pera na ‘yun sana na makukuha ko po, itulong ko po sana sa tiyuhin ko na may gout at hindi pa po nakakalakad,” he further said.
In the second video shown by Ejercito, Artadi’s staffers were allegedly seen counting their supposed kickback from a TUPAD beneficiary.
“It seems the government’s various cash aid programs have become instruments for political interest,” Ejercito said. “Instead of going to beneficiaries, they are used to reward allies and bankroll operators. In other words, they are used for patronage politics.”
As of posting, Artadi has yet to respond regarding the matter.
Before becoming a politician, Artadi played for several PBA teams, namely the Purefoods TJ Giants, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, San Miguel Beermen, Air21 Express, Meralco Bolts, and Blackwater Elite.
The post Ex-PBA cager Paul Artadi’s staff accused of kickbacks in San Juan’s TUPAD payout first appeared on Fastbreak.
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