By Tara Yap
ILOILO CITY – The food kiosk project of the Philippine National Police (PNP) is gaining momentum as a communal way of helping the less fortunate adversely affected by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
A woman gets free food supply from a food kiosk of the police in San Miguel town, Iloilo province. The Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) initiated the Bayanihan kiosk project in 42 towns and a component city. (San Miguel PNP / MANILA BULLETIN)
“The queues of recipients are very long and many generous people responded to our call,” said Police Colonel Paul Kenneth Lucas, acting chief of the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO).
Lucas initiated the Bayanihan kiosk project, which gets food donation from both police personnel and civilian donors, to help local folk to cope with the crisis caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“There are many families who are in need in this difficult time. Those who have more on their tables are morally bound to share to the needy,” Lucas expressed.
There are food kiosks scattered in the 42 towns of the province and the component city of Passi.
There are a variety of food supply in these kiosks, such as rice, bread, meats, fresh fish, dried fish, vegetables, fruits, eggs, noodles, among others.
Police Master Sergeant Francisco Lindero Jr., IPPO spokesman, said that more than 3,100 households have benefited from the food-drive donation since its launch last April 21.
There are also mobile food kiosks, wherein policemen go to far-flung barangays (villages) to reach residents who find it hard to go to the town center.
Meanwhile, IPPO is asking for more donations to sustain its project until the ECQ ends.