By Jean Fernando
The Paranaque City government expanded its amelioration program to its middle class constituents by distributing free rice and face masks in private subdivisions. This is to alleviate the economic hardship brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez (Mayor Edwin Olivarez FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Mayor Edwin Olivarez said the decision to expand the assistance to homeowners is imperative given that the city has one of the largest, if not the largest, concentration of private subdivisions and villages in the Philippines. “Our middle class is the backbone of the city. They are the reason why we have become one of the most progressive local government units in the country and it is our responsibility to help them cope during these difficult times,” Olivarez said.
The distribution of rice which is 10 kilos sack and face masks was launched last April 16 in Barangay Marcelo in coordination with barangay officials and the various homeowners associations and federations. Olivarez said that the city enjoys a healthy financial position as a result of prudent fiscal management, allowing the local government to expand its social amelioration program to cover a larger segment of the population.
“And on top of our financial resources, the city has also received significant donations of consumer goods from the private sector, which we give out on a daily basis to the city’s less privileged citizens,” Olivarez said. The mayor also said that the city’s 16 barangays will be covered in the distribution of rice and face masks to homeowners.
Olivarez added that the city government is continuing its mobile market program targeting villages and subdivisions to discourage people from going out of their homes by bringing mobile markets to their neighborhoods.