A total of 280,000 sacks of rice were distributed to Cebu City barangays as aid to the residents amid the lockdown due to the COVID-19. | Photo Courtesy of Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City government completed the distribution of the 280,000 sacks of rice as relief aid to the 80 barangays here on July 9, 2020.
In a Facebook post, Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said that, with the help of the city government workers and volunteers, the city was able to distribute sacks of rice to the barangays and an additional 120,000 sacks to isolation centers, locked down communities, and quarantine centers.
“Our most recent distribution began last June 24 and was just recently completed. It involved around 280,000 sacks handed out to the 80 barangays, locked down communities, and isolation centers in Cebu City,” said Labella.
The mayor revealed that the rice distributed was proportionate to the population of the barangays, in which bigger barangays received more rice, while smaller barangays received lesser.
Still, the barangays are given the prerogative on how to distribute the rice to the residents and how many kilos per household will be distributed.
“The City Government continues to mobilize people and resources to bring relief to Cebuanos experiencing great hardship because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In return, I ask for your cooperation in following the measures that would allow us to contain this virus. Only when we’ve done that can we start rebuilding our lives and our economy,” said the mayor.
Still, there have been issues surrounding the rice distribution in the barangays after some barangay chiefs from the opposition party complained that the distribution was coursed through the Mayor’s Information and Liaison Office (MILO).
Read: Inayawan village chief laments city’s lack of coordination in rice aid distribution
The mayor has specifically instructed that the rice be coursed through elected barangay officials based on the ordinance in relief distribution.
Labella already ordered an investigation on these allegations that the MILO has been distributing the rice with no coordination with the elected barangay chiefs. /bmjo