Rice subsidy for underprivileged residents in Cebu City are awaiting delivery to the respective barangays. | Photo Courtesy of Cebu City PIO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia revealed on Wednesday noon, March 25, 2020, that the promised 100,000 sacks of rice for city residents have arrived in the city.
Garcia said that the rice is being delivered to the barangays, and may take a week to be completed. Each barangay will get approximately 1000 sacks depending on their population with bigger barangays getting more sacks of rice.
The distribution of the rice is another story, says Garcia, as the barangays are given the prerogative to distribute the rice to families who need them the most with priorities to those who cannot work during the general community quarantine.
The barangays will also have to repack the rice as only 25 kilograms can be given to each family.
“So after repacking, that’s the time the barangays can distribute. The barangays will announce when they can distribute the rice,” said Garcia.
Mayor Edgardo Labella already met with the barangays to discuss who will get the rice assistance from the government and he said that drivers, vendors, and other underprivileged families will be prioritized.
Labella also called on the barangay chiefs to be united amidst the spread of the Coronavirus.
He urged the barangays to temporarily forget political partisanship during the public health crisis, and remain united in the fight against Covid-19.
“Kung mahimo ba, kalimtan lang usa nato ang pulitika. (If we can, let us forget politicking). Let us be one, let us be united because this problem is a matter of life and death,” said the mayor.
This was his response to the statement of some barangay chiefs that the distribution of rice has been politicized by the current administration.
The mayor said this is not true because the barangay chiefs have been given the prerogative to choose their beneficiaries giving priorities to those who cannot work during the community quarantine.
Aside from this, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has furnished the list of 4Ps beneficiaries to the city government, so that these families will also be prioritized in the distribution of rice subsidy. /rcg