MANKAYAN, Benguet – The municipal government and pocket miners played the role of ‘big brother’ to areas that need support as they delivered to nearby Cervantes, Ilocos Sur some 11 tons of assorted highland vegetables to be part of the relief assistance for the residents of the lowland municipality.
Initially, the pocket miners turned over to the officialdom of Cervantes, Ilocos Sur some 4 tons of cabbage over the weekend that was followed by another round of 4 tons of carrots recently while the municipal officials delivered to their counterparts some 7 tons of assorted vegetables for the municipal government’s relief assistance to their constituents last Wednesday.
Mayor Frenzel A. Ayong said the delivered vegetables to Cervantes were free of charge and represents the municipal government’s support to the residents of Cervantes, their neighbour downstream within the jurisdiction of the Ilocos region.
Further, he claimed the donated vegetables were purchased by the municipal government from the farmers as part of the town’s officialdom assistance to farmers for an alternative market for their agricultural produce considering the significant decline in the demand for vegetables due to the implementation of the Luzonwide enhanced community quarantine.
“We will continue to look for ways on how to continue providing our farmers with alternative markets through our available network to support the survival of people during these trying times. We want our farmers to earn from their produce so they can sustain their families until the next cropping season,” Mayor Ayong stressed.
By next week, Ayong disclosed that the municipality will be selling vegetables to one of the municipal governments in Central Luzon and in return, Mankayan will be purchasing rice from the said locality to beef up the town’s available rice stockpile that could last for a reasonable period of time.
The municipal mayor expressed his gratitude to the pocket miners and other sectors in the municipality for extending the needed support to the local vegetable farmers by purchasing their produce and donating the same to the different local governments and individuals and groups that need the supply as part of the relief assistance.
Ayong underscored that during these trying times, the support of everyone is needed to help in preventing the spread of the dreaded Corona Virus Disease (COVID) 2019, thus, the need for them to cooperate with the existing guidelines governing the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine that will expire by the end of the month.
By Hent