BACOLOD City – The provincial government of Negros Occidental has allocated a P31-million rice subsidy for the province’s 31 towns and cities during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) which will start on Monday.
The province has 19 municipalities and 12 cities, excluding Bacolod. Each local government unit (LGUs) will receive P1 million in rice aid.
Charina Magallanes-Tan, executive assistant to Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, said the rice purchased from the National Food Authority (NFA) has been released to the LGUs starting Friday.
“Instead of cash, the local chief executives opted to receive the P1 million in the form of rice subsidy. This is an additional support of the province to the LGUs, which have their own provisions for their constituents,” she said in a press conference.
Trucks from various localities have been transporting sacks of rice from the NFA warehouse in Bacolod since Friday.
On Thursday, Lacson issued Executive Order No. 20-20, placing Negros Occidental under ECQ for 14 days.
The ECQ, to be implemented as a precaution against the spread or local transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), will start at 12:01 a.m. on March 30 and end at 11:59 p.m. on April 14.
For 14 days, a strict home quarantine shall be observed in all households in Negros Occidental and movement shall be limited to accessing basic necessities.
Provision for food and essential health services shall also be regulated and there will be a heightened presence of uniformed personnel to enforce quarantine procedures.
The provincial government will devise and implement a scheme to deliver food packs to vulnerable municipalities and cities, and a point-to-point transport plan to deliver its employees and health care workers to and from their workplace. (With a report from PNA/PN)
