Presidential aspirant Mayor Isko Moreno and Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna inspect one of the 700,000 food boxes that will be distributed to families in Manila as part of the food security program of the city. Photo by Jerry S. Tan
Manila FSP to distribute 700K food boxes
AKSYON Demokratiko Presidential bet, Mayor Isko Moreno and Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna yesterday led the new round of distribution of food boxes to about 700,000 families in the city of Manila, as part of the local government’s food security program (FSP) amid the ongoing pandemic.
Moreno and Lacuna personally went to the San Andres Sports Complex which was full to the brim with food boxes and gave directions for the start of distribution to the 896 barangays in the city, which will be undertaken by City Engineer Armand Andres, Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau chief Dennie Viaje and Department of Public Services chief Kenneth Amurao. The barangay chairmen, in turn, will distribute the said food boxes to their respective constituents.
The mayor said that based on the policy that he and Lacuna have agreed on from the very start of the pandemic when they conceptualized the FSP, the number of food boxes that the local government is distributing is based on the actual number of families living in the city, regardless of status in life and not based on the number of houses alone.
A former “squatter” himself, Moreno noted that sometimes, 4 or 5 families live in a single structure and that even without the pandemic, food is hard to come by for those who are poor.
“Gaya kami dati, patong-patong ang mga squatter pero isang building lang. Minsan apat o limang pamilya nakatira. ‘Yung mayaman, iparamdam natin taxes nila. Di nila kailangang hingin pa. Don’t pre-judge dahil lahat ngayon kailangan ng tulong,” Moreno stressed.
