MANKAYAN, Benguet – Concerned sectors and farmers from the municipality pooled available vegetables that were subsequently donated to Pugo town in La Union, one of its sister municipalities.
Mayor Frenzel Ayong disclosed some 6 to 7 tons of assorted vegetables from different sectors and farmers were turned over to Pugo officials headed by Mayor Priscilla M. Martin as of the municipality support to its sister municipality during these trying times.
Earlier, the municipal l government tendered to Pugo a twinning agreement which the latter formally accepted.
The donation was delivered to Pugo town by a 5-man team from Mankayan led by Councilor Alex Dapyawen who represented the local government in the said confidence-building measure.
“We want to add a twist to our sisterhood relationship, especially in these trying times. We want to show to our brothers and sisters in Pugo they can rely on us for any support we can provide to help them hurdle the challenges of the ongoing enhanced community quarantine,” Mayor Ayong stressed.
Pugo recorded two confirmed Corona Virus Disease (COVID) 2019 cases where one of them, a resident of Poblacion West, reportedly died and a 30-year old health worker who attended to the first COVID case, who is a resident of barangay Cuenca.
Ayong was saddened over these confirmed COVID cases but with the strong leadership of Mayor Martin, the municipality will hurdle the challenge of the prevailing enhanced community quarantine.
On her part, Mayor Martin expressed the sincerest gratitude of the people and officialdom of Pugo to their counterparts in Mankayan, especially the concerned sectors and farmers who produced the donated vegetables, for taking time in sparing their excess supply of the agricultural crops that will form part of the relief goods for the vulnerable and marginalized sectors based in Pugo’s 14 barangays.
Pugo and Mankayan were supposed to formalize their sisterhood agreement during the town fiesta of the latter last March but this was overtaken by President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s order declaring the country under a state of public health emergency and subsequently placed Luzon under enhanced community quarantine to fight the spread of the deadly virus.
Both Mayors Martin and Ayong claimed the formality of their sisterhood or twinning relationship could come later but what is important is for the two local governments to have a smooth exchange of best practices to comfort their respective constituents during this enhanced community quarantine period.
Mankayan is a first-class municipality in Benguet that relies on mining in the lower area and vegetable farming in the upper part as its major sources of income while Pugo is a fifth-class municipality in the second district of La Union where the primary source of income is agriculture but the local government is now aggressively working for the promotion of its ecotourism sites to help spur the tourism and agriculture-based local economy.
By Hent
