Sunday, May 11, 2008 More villages in need of NFA rice: village heads
THE rice shortage and National Food Authority's (NFA's) rice distribution scheme were tackled during the general assembly of barangay chairmen of Baguio last Friday.
According to the NFA, rice was distributed only to depressed areas.
These barangays include Loakan Proper, Atok Trail, Sto. Tomas Proper, Bakakeng Central, Dominican Hill-Mirador, Irisan (Puroks 1-7), Irisan (Puroks 19-28), San Carlos Heights, Irisan (Puroks 8-18), Sto. Rosario Valley, Ruba-Poblacion, Taloy Sur/Norte, Outlook Drive, Gibraltar, Upper Quezon Hill, Victoria Village, and San Antonio Village.
The barangay chairmens' appeal to NFA provincial manager Rolando Rufo was for more areas to be serviced.
They said there are more depressed areas in need of government-subsidized rice where more poor people are located than the DSWD-listed barangays.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) head Betty Fangasan said the rice allocation was based on the profile each barangay submitted to the department.
She added that the reason why only 15 barangays were prioritized was because the DSWD is hampered by its system of prioritizing depressed barangays.
"Even though there are 20 to 50 out of 129 barangays in Baguio City in need of attention, the department's priority is up to 15 barangays," she said.
Fangasan said most of the barangay profiles were more geared towards infrastructure, and not social, development.
"The NFA has 210 Tindahan Natin outlets all over Baguio City and Benguet," Fangasan said. (Ann Marie Malindog)
