LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – More than one thousand two hundred stakeholders of the strawberry farm were able to get the needed assistance from Rep. Eric Yap during a simple program held at the strawberry farm Thursday afternoon.
Kevin Edward See, Chief of Staff of the Office of the Benguet Representative, Mayor Romeo K. Salda and Vice mayor Roderick Awingan led the distribution of the one half cavan of rice to each of the identified recipients who are bonafide members of the various associations within the strawberry farm.
Yap was supposed to attend the distribution of the said assistance to the recipients but he had to rush to Metro Manila after he was informed of the untimely demise of his beloved father who had been confined at the St. Luke’s Medical Center due to a longer illness.
The recipients of the said assistance were identified in close coordination with the municipal government and the different associations of the various stakeholders within the strawberry farm such as the strawberry farmers, cutflower farmers, ice cream vendors and various vendors earning a living in the various stalls within the said strawberry production area.
See apologized to the recipients for the absence of Congressman Yap during the distribution of the said assistance and assured them of his presence in future activities that will be conducted in the area as he had to rush to Metro Manila to attend to the wake of his late father.
For his part, Mayor Salda, in behalf of the strawberry farm stakeholders, expressed his gratitude to Congressman Yap and his staff for continuously providing various forms of assistance to the heavily impacted sectors from the different parts of the province who are trying to recover from the serious negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic especially to their established sources of livelihood.
He claimed that the lawmaker was able to show his brand of service to the people of the province before, during and after the pandemic that paved the way for him being elected as the District Representative of the province to the House of Representatives during the May 9, 2022 synchronized national and local elections.
From the 700 beneficiaries that were earlier identified by the local government and the strawberry farm stakeholders, the number of recipients increased to 1,200 after the inclusion of other sectors that are plying their trade in the said area which was granted by Congressman Yap.
Strawberry and cutflower farmers and vendors were among those sectors whose sources of livelihood were heavily impacted by the implementation of various forms of community quarantine restrictions to contain the rapid spread of the deadly virus over the past 3 years.
Most of the recipients of the aforesaid assistance from Congressman Yap stated that the one half sack of rice each that they were able to receive will surely go a long way in sustaining the living condition of their families while efforts are now underway to be able to recover from the effect of the pandemic.
La Trinidad is the major producer of strawberries that is being sold in the different markets inside and outside the province where the same provides a permanent source of livelihood to thousands of concerned stakeholders.