Barangay officials in the City of Manila must immediately distribute the food boxes from the city government to constituents as soon as they are delivered to the barangay halls.
Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso made this remark after receiving reports that some barangay officials leave the food boxes lying around in their barangay halls for up to four days.
"Alam kong hirap ang mga barangay, hirap na hirap kayo, wala na kayong budget. Eto, may dumating na produkto na makatutulong upang maibsan ang pangangailangan ng mga pamilyang Manileño (I know the barangays are struggling, you don't have any more funds. Here comes a product that can help ease the needs of Manileño families). All you have to do is deliver it as soon as possible, the moment that you receive it," he said in a live broadcast on Facebook on Sunday (March 14).
"Hindi ko maintindihan bakit tumatagal pa ng tatlo, apat na araw sa barangay hall niyo. Hindi ba kayo naaawa sa tao na walang makain? Ano ba naman ang hirap na i-deliver niyo sa bahay-bahay (I do not understand why it is being left in your barangay halls for three, four days. Do you not take pity on the people who have nothing to eat? How hard is it to deliver this door-to-door)?" he added.
On Feb. 10, the Manila city government launched the Food Security Program that aims to curb hunger of poverty-stricken families in the city amid the COVID-19 crisis.
A fund of around P3 billion was allocated for its implementation. Each food box contains three kilos of rice, 16 pieces of canned goods, and eight sachets of coffee.
Domagoso said it is his dream to be able to provide food to around 700,000 families living in the capital city for up to six months.
For this project, he got his inspiration from his personal experiences of living in the city's slums when he was growing up.
"Hindi niyo gugustuhin ang dinanas ko at ayun ang ayoko ipadanas sa mga anak ninyo (You would not want to experience what I did and I do not want your children to experience that)," he said. "Baka ang iba sa inyo hindi alam, mahirap ang pakiramdam na kumakalam ang sikmura, mahapdi po 'yan sa tiyan (Maybe some of you do not know, it is difficult to feel your stomach growling, it is painful)."
"I hope you understand kung saan ang hugot ko sa buhay, kung bakit ganyan (where I am coming from, why am I like this). I hope you understand. Time is always of the essence," he added.