Frasco launches hotline for 5th district residents, displaced workers, OFWs

Frasco Foundation has donated 1,000 sacks of rice that were distributed to households in the fifth district that were affected by the ECQ. (Photo from Rep. Duke Frasco)

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Residents in Cebu’s fifth district may already air their concerns on relief assistance during the enhanced community quarantine through a “hotline” commissioned by Representative Vincent Franco Frasco.

On Sunday, April 26, 2020, Frasco launched the COVID-19 Hotline which will cater to concerns of residents from Liloan, Compostela, Carmen, Catmon, Borbon, the towns of Pilar, Poro, San Francisco and Tudela in Camotes Island, and Danao City.

In a news release, Frasco said the hotlines would also hear concerns of public utility drivers, employees of small businesses, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who might have been displaced due to the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent ECQ.

The public may air their concerns through mobile number 0908-354-0240 or via electronic mail (email) addressed to [email protected].

“In this time of crisis, we hear a lot of cries for help. We will listen, we will hear them out, and we will provide assistance,” Frasco said.

Read more: BIR’s Small Business Wage Subsidy Program

The congressman said his office will facilitate concerns about the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) Small Business Wage Subsidy Program and the assistance to PUV drivers from the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

Since the start of the enhanced community quarantine last March 30, PUV drivers have also been stripped of their livelihood due to the suspension of public mass transport.

“Akong panghinaut na kining tabang na atong gihatag makapahinumdom sa katawhan na dili angay mawad-an [og] paglaum, na wala sila nag-inusara sa pag-atubang niining dakong krisis. Ug pamaagi sa atong pagtinabangay, maluwas kita niini,” Frasco said.

(I am hoping that this help that we have extended may remind the people not to lose hope, and that they are not alone in facing this crisis and that through helping each other, we can get past this.)

Earlier this month, Frasco has also extended relief assistance, including food packs and hygiene items, to the residents in the district. Among these are 1,000 sacks of rice which were repacked and distributed to sectors and households in the district’s 10 towns and one city that were heavily affected by the province-wide ECQ./dbs