AJUY, Iloilo-A boy kept hugging a bag of rice placed in a bench close to him by his mom. In a distance, another girl was seated on top of the bag guarding her family’s share. Aside from them, many children were seen joining their mothers in receiving the assistance.

These scenarios were caught on camera during the rice distribution for survivors of typhoon Yolanda in Barangay Luca, Ajuy, Iloilo recently. The municipality received 4,860 bags of rice out of the 12,180 released for Iloilo Province. Other recipients are Concepcion and San Rafael.

The rice came from the government of Malaysia, totaling to 35,000 bags weighing 350 metric tons. Aside from Iloilo, hardest hit Capiz and Aklan Provinces were also given 11,395 and 11,425 bags respectively, as facilitated by the ASEAN Plus 3 Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR). On Thursday, the donation was turned over to the National Food Authority (NFA) by Wiroj Saengbangka, APTERR secretariat, to Presidential Assistant on Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Secretary Francis Pangilinan.

“We are very thankful of this assistance. Thank you for helping Ajuy,” said Mayor Juan Alvarez in a short message during the turnover ceremony.

Distribution of rice was overseen by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Local Social Welfare and Development Offices (LSWDOs). Priority was given to those who had totally damaged houses.

PANTAWID PAMILYA BENEFICIARIES RECEIVE RICE TOO

Beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program were among the recipients of the rice distributed.

Angelie Tachado of Luca, whose house was totally damaged during the storm said, “This is good because this could augment our resources particularly for the food of the family.”
Hermie Galvez, of Barangay Pedada, likewise expressed her appreciation for the food assistance.

In the same way, Tessie Alsado, also of Pedada, was quoted saying, “We are very thankful for this assistance. Life is very difficult nowadays. I have eight children and my youngest is still eight-month-old. This could put food on the table for days.”

The DSWD has been advocating for convergence of services for the poor, particularly beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilya, to raise their status to self-sufficiency./dswd6/May Rago-Castillo