For the month of May, the Manila city government resumed the distribution of food boxes to around 700,000 families in the city under its Food Security Program (FSP).

The distribution of the food boxes for this month began on Saturday (May 8). Members of the Department of Public Services, Department of Engineering and Public Works, and the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau have begun distributing food boxes in Manila’s 1st District.

A total of 139,000 food boxes have already been distributed to 122 barangays in District 1 as of Sunday (May 9).

According to Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso, the program will help lessen the expenses of the city's residents amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "Ito ay iyong pinasa naming batas, sa tulong ni Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna at mga konsehal nung Disyembre, upang ibsan ang inyong mga tustusin buwan-buwan at para lumaki naman ang inyong savings. Dahil sa epekto ng inflation or hirap ng buhay ng tao, nagmamahal ang produkto, hindi naman tumataas ang sweldo (With the help of Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna and councilors, in December we passed this law to help lessen your monthly expenses and to increase your savings. Due to the impact of inflation, product prices increase but no salary raise)," Domagoso said.

Each food box contains three kilos of rice, 16 pieces of canned goods and eight sachets of coffee.

The city government has allotted P3 billion for the implementation of the program.

Domagoso said the city government is prioritizing "the lives of the public over road works."

To recall, Domagoso and the Manila City Council agreed to postpone major road projects in 2021 to fund the program.

The FSP was launched in February after the city government realigned its budget to address hunger amid the pandemic in the capital city.

The program will continue until July this year, according to the city government.