WE ARE now on the third day of General Community Quarantine or GCQ (I do hope I have not spoken too soon) and if the natives of “I Am Iloilo City” and province just follow the guidelines then we’ll be alright and moving on to the “new normal”.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought out the best and the worst in people, from that le affair Makati Medical Center of Sen. “Koko” Pimentel to Rappler’s Maria Ressa “11 million” faux pas and those “experts” on the Constitution and franchise laws alumni of ABS-CBN’s “Pinoy Big Brother institution of higher learning”, other artista ng bayan and mango jam intrusions in “I Am Iloilo City”, the natives have certainly seen the worst.
But we’re not going to talk about the worst. We are going to talk about the best that came out of people, particularly our leaders in these troubled times as what the Department of the Interior and Local Government or DILG hails as “best practice”.
They say the worst of times tend to bring out the best of times in a person and that’s exactly what happened in the Province of Iloilo.
Excerpts from a May 6, 2020 article in www.pna.gov.ph:
DILG hails Iloilo’s COVID-19 relief assistance
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) 6 (Western Visayas) has recognized the Iloilo provincial government’s “Pag-ulikid sa Mangunguma” (Taking Care of the Farmers) relief assistance program as LGU COVID-19 (local government unit coronavirus disease 2019) Best Practice in Western Visayas.
Iloilo province purchases agricultural products from small farmers to be distributed to households affected by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
Ariel Iglesia, DILG-6 regional director, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Wednesday that the province’s initiative to help small farmers is an effort worth emulating.
“It is a good innovation that may be replicated (by other LGUs) to address the current situation,” he said.
The provincial government allocated P8.7 million for the program to sustain the local economy by providing income to farmers and at the same time supply food to households, prioritizing those with strict travel restrictions due to local transmission.
In a previous press conference, Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. said fruits and vegetables can provide Ilonggos the vitamins they need to boost their immune system against COVID-19.
“We are running out of Vitamin C in pharmacies and these are good sources of vitamins that we need as we fight the pandemic,” the governor said.
Small farmers who wish to sell their products are being catered by their respective municipal agriculturists.
The initial batch of farm produce was dispatched on April 13, 2020. The second round was on April 29. Iglesia, meanwhile, said the province has gained another “bragging right” with the recognition.
“We acknowledge what they do. This is to motivate the LGUs to perform more,” he said.
With the current performance of the province in fighting the pandemic, Iglesia believes that it can reap more recognition from the department in the future.
This is indeed an innovative and progressive program hitting two birds with one stone; it helps sustain the local economy, particularly the small farmers, and at the same time supply food to households, prioritizing those with strict travel restrictions due to local transmission.
The usual practice of providing sardines as relief goods is so passé not to mention boring and not very healthy. I’d rather have fresh vegetables and fruits as they not only provide variety but essential vitamins needed to boost the body’s immune system to fight off the Coronavirus or COVID-19 infection.
Meanwhile in “I Am Iloilo City” the natives have been complaining of too much serving of sardines. Their only consolation is “Ilonggo pandesal” which is quite tasty paired with coffee and goes well with butter and the ubiquitous “mango jam”.
As far as I can remember, whenever we talk of “relief goods” it is always sardines, instant noodles and the occasional cheap corned beef. Nobody ever thought of vegetables, fruits, fresh and dried fish as “relief goods.” It takes someone with a creative and progressive mind like Governor Defensor to think out of the box.
Maybe Governor Toto is a closet vegetarian and saw this opportunity to not only educate the natives of the province but also provide them with a healthy alternative to your usual boring and bland sardines.
A diet of fruits and vegetables is not only healthy; no animal died for your lunch or dinner. Having said that, this innovative approach to relief assistance, according to DILG-6 regional director Ariel Iglesia, has certainly given Governor Toto and Iloilo Province bragging rights. So there. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com/PN)
