TABUK CITY, Kalinga April 23 – More than 35,000 households in the city’s 42 barangays were given sufficient food packages by the local government over the past several weeks to allow them to at least cope with the heavy impact of the extended Luzonwide enhanced community quarantine to the local economy and their sources of livelihood for over a month now.
Mayor Darwin C. Estrañero said that in the first wave of the distribution of food packs to the households numbering to more than 29,700, the local government received numerous complaints from other households who did not get the assistance which prompted city officials to compel barangay officials to submit an updated survey on the number of households in the city that resulted to an increase of the same to more than 35,000 households.
He disclosed that in the second wave of the distribution of assistance, the number of food packs that will be prepared will be based on the latest survey of the barangay officials to prevent the recurrence of unnecessary complaints from households who will not be given as the same is now underway.
Aside from several kilos of rice, the food packs being distributed by the city for the second wave include lowland vegetables, canned goods, noodles among other important food items that will be needed by the members of the households while undergoing strict home quarantine.
For the third wave of food packs that will be again distributed to the identified recipients, the city mayor said that will be a mixture of several kilos of rice, highland vegetables, possibly important food items that could be cooked together with the vegetables so that the households will be able to sparingly cook the same for their food in the last stretch of the quarantine period.
Mayor Estrañero revealed that the local government purchased from Tadian, Mountain Province farmers some 30,000 kilos of potatoes and more than 4,000 kilos of wombok which will be included as part of the food packs that will be distributed to the city’s households during the third wave of distribution of the prescribed relief assistance.
Of the city’s over 35,000 households, some 14,800 households are said to be recipients of the government’s social amelioration program (SAP).
According to him, the local government still provided food packs to the SAP beneficiaries even if they were able to get their financial assistance from the government to ensure that their families will not have a difficult time accessing food that will be served on the table during the quarantine period, especially that only one representative per household is allowed to go out to buy food for them and do essential transactions.
He assured concerned stakeholders that the local government will remain steadfast in the implementation of the strict quarantine rules, especially that the same is on its final stretches, to avoid the occurrence of unnecessary incidents that might affect the gains that was achieved for over a month as the city remains to be free from the contagious virus.
The city mayor expressed his gratitude to all city and barangay officials, health workers, police and military, volunteers and all sectors that contributed in the realization of a COVID-free city and that the same was achieved through the overwhelming support of the residents who cooperated with the crafted guidelines.
By Hent