Cebu City distributes food packs to El Niño victims

A RESIDENT of Barangay Bonbon, a mountain barangay in Cebu City, takes advantage of Bonbon river’s low water levels to catch freshwater fish with minimum effort. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

Cebu City Hall has started distributing food packs to families in 31 mountain barangays affected by the El Niño phenomenon.

Ester Concha, Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS) chief, said the distribution of food packs bought by the city’s calamity funds was part of her office’s normal operations.

They did not need to ask the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for exemption from the election ban on the distribution of any relief or other goods, she added.

Cebu City north district election officer Edwin Cadungog did not answer mobile phone calls yesterday.

Councilor Dave Tumulak, who heads the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CCDRRMC), said they had planned to seek Comelec’s permission. When sought for comment yesterday, Tumulak said he did not know the status of the request.

He said he was no longer as active in the CCDRRMC because he was busy with his reelection campaign.

A total of P6 million taken from Cebu City’s calamity fund has been allocated for the relief assistance. Distribution started on Saturday, April 23, and was conducted daily until all 31 barangays received assistance.

Each of the 31 mountain barangays in Cebu City received 500 food packs containing three kilos of rice and five assorted canned goods.

“This was requested by the barangays and validated by the Agriculture department. Their food supply has been affected because they don’t have harvests due to the dry spell,” Concha told reporters yesterday.

“For example, when we went to Sapangdaku, there was a woman who was crying when we distributed the food packs. She said they really had nothing to eat,” she added.

Concha said they coordinated with barangay officials who provided the list of beneficiaries, which was also verified by the City Agriculture Department.

A second tranche of relief packs will be distributed in the same upland barangays next week.

“We will prioritize those who haven’t received during the first tranche,” Concha said.

The Cebu City Council declared earlier this month a state of calamity in the entire city due to the effects of the El Niño.

The City Agriculture Department said crop damage amounted to P13.4 million in the upland barangays alone as of March. Some 87.4 hectares of land were affected.

City Agriculturist Joelito Baclayon earlier said they planned to seek P10 million from the city’s calamity funds to provide additional assistance to affected farmers.

He said they have been distributing hoses, drums, seeds and fertilizers to affected farmers since last year. The city government has also implemented a water distribution system in barangays suffering from low to no water supply.