Manila: The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Saturday issued a warning to the public against scammers claiming to be beneficiaries of DSWD assistance, stressing that individuals found misrepresenting themselves as disaster 'survivors' will be criminally charged in court. According to Philippines News Agency, the DSWD issued the warning following the arrest of a man who pretended to be a survivor of the building collapse in Angeles City, Pampanga in an attempt to obtain food and financial assistance intended for individuals and families affected by the unfortunate incident. In a statement, Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD's Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) said the department is actively coordinating with law enforcement authorities and is studying possible legal actions that may be taken should the allegations be proven. "Mahigpit pong ipinapaalala ng DSWD na ang tulong ng gobyerno ay nakalaan para sa mga tunay na biktima at nangangailangan. Ang sinumang mapatutuna yang nagsinungaling o nagpanggap upang makatanggap ng ayuda ay mananagot po sa ilalim po ng ating mga umiiral na batas (The DSWD strictly reminds that government aid is reserved for the real victims and the needy. Anyone proven to have lied or pretended just to receive aid will be made accountable under existing laws)," Dumlao said. Based on the initial report of the DSWD 3 (Central Luzon), the man falsely claimed that he was buying a drink at a nearby store when the building under construction collapsed on May 24. Subsequent validation reportedly showed that he was neither a resident of the area nor connected to the construction site or to any of the victims affected by the incident. Dumlao, who also serves as department spokesperson, confirmed that the individual was able to receive assistance from DSWD-3. "Nakikipag-ugnayan po tayo ngayon sa mga awtoridad habang pinag-aaralan ang mga posibleng kasong maaaring isampa laban po sa nasabing indibidwal. Hindi po natin palalampasin ang anumang pagtatangka na i lihis ang limitadong resources na para po sana sa mga tunay na biktima ng trahedya (We are coordinating with the authorities while studying the possible cases to be filed against the individual. We will not tolerate any attempt to divert limited resources intended for real victims of tragedy)," she pointed out. The DSWD-3 continues to provide assistance to legitimate victims and their families affected by the building collapse in Barangay Balibago in Angeles City. The assistance includes hygiene kits, ready-to-eat food (RTEF) packs, family food packs (FFPs), and cash relief assistance amounting to PHP10,000 for qualified beneficiaries. The regional office also provided psychosocial interventions and other forms of support for survivors and bereaved families affected by the recent incident, in line with the DSWD's commitment to helping communities recover from traumatic events. "Alinsunod sa direktiba ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at sa pangunguna po ni Secretary Rex Gatchalian, patuloy po ang ating paki kipag-ugnayan sa local government unit ng Angeles City at sa provincial government ng Pampanga upang matiyak na mabilis at maayos na naihahatid ang ayuda at iba pang serbisyo sa mga naapektuhan ng insidente (In line with the directives of President Marcos, the DSWD, under the leadership of Secretary Gatchalian, continues to coordinate with the Angeles City government and the provincial government of Pampanga to ensure the prompt and orderly distribution of aid and other services to the affected residents),' Dumlao said. According to the Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Communication (DROMIC) report as of 6 a.m. Saturday, a total of PHP916,782.50 worth of assistance has been provided by the DSWD to the 152 identified individuals affected by the incident.