Lawyer Cristopher Cabilen, secretary to the Sangguniang Panglungsod ng Kidapawan, said the City Council and the Office of the City Mayor had reached a consensus on Friday that the city government would push through with its food rationing, setting aside in the meantime, the council’s probe on the poor quality of rice that was distributed last week.
The investigation, according to Cabilen, will proceed after the city is over with the crisis brought about by COVID-19 pandemic or when everything returns to normalcy.
Goods for house-to-house distribution of the City Government of Kidapawan’s relief assistance led by Philippine Red Cross, City Social Welfare and Development Office, and Barangay local government units on April 7, 2020. Beneficiaries are Barangays Manongol, Perez, Meohao, Birada, Mua-an, Ginatilan, Balabag, and Ilomavis. Photo courtesy of the City Government of Kidapawan
Reports said city officials had identified the source of the sacks of rice that allegedly were old stock, brownish in color, broken or adulterated, and had weevils and stone grits.
“The unscrupulous trader was outside North Cotabato but just very near the city. The stocks came from that trader,” said a city official who requested anonymity.
Next week, the city’s 43,000 poor households will again receive at least six kilos of rice, canned goods, and other food items.
Funds for the food aid came from the 29.1 million pesos earlier approved for release by the Sanggunian.
The Department of Budget and Managmeent (DBM) also downloaded some 70 million pesos to the city government for purchase of medical supplies, food aid, and other materials and items necessary in fighting COVID-19.
There’s money but no suppliers
From the 70 million pesos, the city government intends to distribute cash – instead of food items — to beneficiaries. The primary reason is that the city government has difficult time finding suppliers from within the city and outside, for the food aid as other local government units across Mindanao are also purchasing the same items for food aid.
“So, instead of food items, the mayor said he wants to give out cash so the beneficiaries could purchase the kind of food they want to bring to their dining table,” said Cabilen.
But Cabilen said this proposal has yet to be approved by the DBM.[]
“The mayor plans to write a letter addressed to the DBM to ask that the city government be allowed to distribute cash instead of food items,” he stressed.[]
