BACOLOD City – The city council is seeking an investigation into the expired relief goods distributed to residents.
The city’s legislative body adopted a resolution authored by Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr. urging Mayor Evelio Leonardia to launch a probe and prevent the incident from happening again.
Gamboa said this is to make sure Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act is followed.
“Food adulteration can have a range of harmful effects on the health of individuals and can lead to toxicity in the body,” the councilor pointed out.
Residents took to social media to express their dismay over the spoiled goods, which they said contained “stinky” low-cost rice and expired instant noodles.
Diego Malacad, secretary general of the United Negros Drivers and Operators Center (UNDOC), was among the beneficiaries. He said the complaints came from an estimated 200 UNDOC members.
Leonardia, for his part, apologized for the incident.
“Some rice have discoloration. They may have gotten wet while being stored in the school gymnasium,” explained Leonardia in a previous statement.
The noodles, he said, were procured just this July and supposed to be distributed on the said month.
But since it was also the time for the distribution of the emergency cash assistance from the national government’s Social Amelioration Program, the city government decided to reserve the food packs in times of need, Leonardia added.
Over 38,000 households benefited from the assistance, according to the mayor, and it is normal for some of the packs to have problems.
The national government’s task force against coronavirus disease 2019 placed this city under a modified enhanced quarantine status on Sept. 8 due to the rising of number of local infections./PN
