Bangkok:Suphanat Meenchainan, a Bangkok MP from the People's Party, has criticized the government's flood relief system, pointing out significant issues with the related application. He emphasized that the app is not integrated with Bangkok's systems, lacks essential features like location tracking and photo attachments, and leads to redundant work and payment delays for officials.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Suphanat explained that the app's design is a major factor causing delays in distributing flood relief funds. It fails to connect frontline officials with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the central government, lacks a mechanism for attaching necessary documents, and doesn't include a location pinning system. This results in long queues at district offices as people prefer submitting documents in person for faster processing.
The absence of a verification system in the app to confirm if an applicant is a homeowner or resident causes further complications. Duplicate applications slow down the screening process, and the lack of a location pinning system complicates verifying whether an area was flooded for more than seven days. Additionally, the app cannot distinguish between different types of housing, leading to wasted time filtering out applications from residents of government housing, which are not eligible for relief payments.
Mr. Suphanat also noted that the request for additional relief funds from the Cabinet highlights the insufficiency of the allocated budget. Since October 16, 2026, many affected individuals have not received payments, and if the funds are not approved by October 20, 2026, many will continue waiting for assistance. He estimates that 1,000-2,000 million baht could have been available for transfer if funds had been approved earlier, but due to delays, these funds have not been disbursed.