BORACAY – Local groups are seeking investigation into the spoiled relief goods that were distributed among residents of this closed island resort.
The residents took to social media to express their dismay over the spoiled goods, which were among the 2,760 family food packs that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) distributed in Barangay Balabag on June 16.
In a joint statement, Rise Up Aklan and We Are Boracay said: “Not accustomed to asking and waiting for help, Boracay residents and workers find this hard to accept in their minds. They are forced by circumstances to endure the situation as they face uncertainties on how they could sustain the daily needs of their families now that they lost their means of livelihood due to the closure of Boracay.”
Rise Up Aklan coordinator Kim-Sin Tugna stressed that there must be an investigation to prevent the incident from happening again.
The DSWD recalled and replaced the spoiled goods but Tugna said it was “not enough.”
He added that the agency must ensure that relief items up for distribution are of good quality.
The distribution of these items must also be “speedy” and “without taint of patronage.”
“These past years, we frequently hear of news of relief goods rotting in warehouses, with millions of pesos worth of food wasted. This concern should also be seriously addressed by the DSWD,” Tugna said.
DSWD regional director Rebecca Geamala has apologized to the public and the recipients of Boracay relief goods in relation to the issue.
“We do not want this happening. We detest that these contaminated relief goods have reached Boracay residents. It is not acceptable because we put paramount importance to the welfare of the people,” Geamala said.
According to her, the contamination happened during the stages of handling and hauling of the food packs.
“Our warehouse staff as well as personnel who are assigned during hauling and delivery were already given tall orders to ensure the quality of goods that we are releasing and that this must not happen again,” Geamala said. (With Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
