Joy Belmonte shrugs off haters, says delay in QC relief goods distribution is supplier-side issue
By Chito Chavez
Quezon City (QC) Mayor Joy Belmonte on Friday chided her haters, saying they are not obliged to accept any of her projects or her actions with regards to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) being enforced in the midst of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte (Mayor Joy Belmonte Official Facebook Page / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
As the Luzon-wide lockdown virtually turned Metro Manila into a ghost town, Belmonte was at the receiving end of numerous criticisms particularly in the distribution of relief goods.
In a recent briefing, Belmonte explained that the delay in the distribution of assistance was due to the suppliers being overwhelmed by the huge volume of food and non-food items ordered by the city government.
She said the huge volume is equivalent to 400,000 food packs for two million people a week.
Belmonte said the food packs will be distributed weekly until the end of the ECQ on April 12.
In addressing her “haters," Belmonte appealed to them to just show their hatred for her at the 2022 national and local elections.
She also urged her critics to set politics aside and allow the city government to address the needs of the local residents, especially the poor.
She reminded her constituents that all persons are prohibited to make non-essential travels with mass transport operation being suspended.
"The people who want to be served and patiently wait for it, don't deserve for their lives and that of their families to be politicized," Belmonte said.
The mayor also thanked her subordinates for serving the people “24/7 for the next three weeks in order for the city government to be able to repack and distribute 400,000 food packs good for a family of five (roughly 2 million people) each week for our 142 barangays, until the end of the quarantine period."
“This same staff will also do simultaneous house-to-house distributions to all the affected households on Sunday and Monday in keeping with social distancing requirements,’’ Belmonte said.
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte (Mayor Joy Belmonte Official Facebook Page / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
As the Luzon-wide lockdown virtually turned Metro Manila into a ghost town, Belmonte was at the receiving end of numerous criticisms particularly in the distribution of relief goods.
In a recent briefing, Belmonte explained that the delay in the distribution of assistance was due to the suppliers being overwhelmed by the huge volume of food and non-food items ordered by the city government.
She said the huge volume is equivalent to 400,000 food packs for two million people a week.
Belmonte said the food packs will be distributed weekly until the end of the ECQ on April 12.
In addressing her “haters," Belmonte appealed to them to just show their hatred for her at the 2022 national and local elections.
She also urged her critics to set politics aside and allow the city government to address the needs of the local residents, especially the poor.
She reminded her constituents that all persons are prohibited to make non-essential travels with mass transport operation being suspended.
"The people who want to be served and patiently wait for it, don't deserve for their lives and that of their families to be politicized," Belmonte said.
The mayor also thanked her subordinates for serving the people “24/7 for the next three weeks in order for the city government to be able to repack and distribute 400,000 food packs good for a family of five (roughly 2 million people) each week for our 142 barangays, until the end of the quarantine period."
“This same staff will also do simultaneous house-to-house distributions to all the affected households on Sunday and Monday in keeping with social distancing requirements,’’ Belmonte said.