ROXAS City – Barely a month after it was halted, the rice program of the city government is back.
The Roxas City government was able to find a way to continue the “Bugas Para sa taga-Roxas Food Security Program” after the National Food Authority (NFA) cut the supply.
“Ginapasiguro gid namon nga ang bugas ara gid, mapadayon namon. Samtang ako ang mayor kag ginasuportahan ini sang bilog nga (city) council, padayunon ko ini kay para ini sa mga pumoluyo nga nagakinahanglan,” said Mayor Ronnie Dadivas during the resumption of the 15-kilo rice distribution.
Some 1,855 families from barangays Cagay and Bato first benefitted as the rice program resumed.
Dadivas admitted that the city government had difficulty finding enough rice supplies.
“Bisan naghulat kami sang medyo madugay sa pag-abot sang bugas, nahangpan namon ang sitwayson. Importante wala nag-untat, mas nagnami kag nagputi pa gid gani,” a resident-beneficiary of Barangay Cagay said.
The city government originally sourced rice from the NFA.
It started during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic for 44,000 affected families.
But the agency stopped supplying rice for Roxas City and other local government units, except for calamity response.
The city government resolved to continue the rice program, citing its importance to every family in crisis due to the recent flooding, inflation, red tide and closed fishing season from November 2022 to March 2023.
“Indi ko gusto magkabalaka ang mga pumoluyo. Gusto ko padayunon ini nga programa kay kabalo kami daku ini nga bulig ilabi na gid sa mga pigado naton nga mga utod,” he said.
Upon consultation, one of the solutions eyed by the city government is to source rice from a private supplier and conduct a bidding./PN
