THE PROVINCIAL government of Negros Occidental is getting ready for a cooking mission to feed 6,000 remaining Kanlaon evacuees still in La Castellana, Bago City and La Carlota City.
The capitol is just waiting for the all the documents to be approved by Malacañang re: P50 million donation of President Bongbong Marcos for the December 9, 2024 Kanlaon eruption displaced Negrenses.
Once everything is complete, capitol can immediately access the fund, already downloaded by Malacañang to the capitol’s coffer.
The capitol’s calendar of daily menus good for 30 days is now ready to be executed.
Capitol, like what it did for two weeks last December – using a portion of the provincial government’s quick response fund (QRF) of P78 million – will again utilize job hire workers to operate mobile kitchens, cook food for Kanlaon evacuees every day.
INTRIGUING
The decision of the capitol to cook, however, does not sound good to the ears of many Negrenses. Coffee shops are abuzz asking why, pointing out that the capitol can just give directly the money to the respective mayors of the affected localities – Mayor Alme Nicor-Mangilimutan (La Castellana), Mayor Nicholas Yulo (Bago City) and Mayor Rex Jalando-on (La Carlota City). Can’t capitol issue checks for financial assistance to these mayor from Malacañang’s P50 million?
I can’t imagine the capitol, which is far from La Castellana, Bago and La Carlota, to labor marketing for meat, fish, pork, spices (kamatis, ahos, bombay, luy-a), condiments, vegetables, fruits, among others everyday. Then, from the marketing chore, the capitol will assign somebody to supervise the cooking, food handling and serving processes.
Then at the end of the day, the capitol will send out press and photo releases, telling the public that people behind the cooking mission were so tired doing extra work for the sake of Kanlaon evacuees. Duh!?
TRUST THE MAYORS, PLEASE
It is weird to think that the provincial government will embark on this “cooking mission”. Can it just trust the mayors, please?
Trusting the mayors with the money from Malacañang is respecting and supporting them while acting as frontliners in managing their respective evacuation centers.
Liquidation? That’s simple! The mayors know that.
Right now, Negrenses are wary of the provincial government. It must be sensitive. It must listen to the feedback of ordinary citizens and netizens.
REFLECT
It’s election time. This “cooking mission” could be a cannon fodder for provincial government critics.
Cooking may be noble, but who can tell Negrenses not be suspicious?
The mission is creditable. But the “buts”, “ifs”, the “whys” and “wherefores” of this matter are typically politically dangerous. Do not underestimate the conundrums that kamatis, ahos, bombay and luy-a may whip up./PN
