DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio reminded village officials to set aside politics in the selection of qualified beneficiaries in the distribution of the ration cards.
“This time, dako ko og pagtuo nga ang mga (I trust that our) barangay captains will not think about politics sa pagkakaron,” Duterte-Carpio said on Saturday, March 21, in a radio interview on Davao City Disaster Radio 87.5 FM.
She added, “Even ako, daghan mga kapitan diri sa Davao City nga dili nato kauban sa panaw nato sa pulitika. Pero ang atoang action is citywide. Wala ta’y gipili nga barangays (In my case, there are some captains in Davao City who is not on our side, in terms of politics. But this action we are initiating is citywide. All barangays will be covered).”
The mayor said she is anticipating issues on the inclusion of qualified beneficiaries in the ration cards, which is set to be released next week.
Among these issues, she said, include the non-inclusion of residents considered a personal enemy or non-supporter of village officials in the recent elections.
Admittedly, the mayor said these issues are “harsh realities” in the villages, which she had anticipated prior to the announcement of the distribution of ration cards.
She said the 19th City Councilors will assist the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) in implementing and managing the villages in the master list and distribution.
The mayor said the councilors in their respective districts will serve as the “team leaders” whenever an issue related to the distribution of ration card in the barangays will arise.
She, however, underscored if there’s an issue in the village regarding the ration card it must still be raised to the City Mayor’s Office for proper action.
Duterte-Carpio previously said qualified beneficiaries will be indigents, out-of-work (contractuals and “no work, no pay” employees), and self-employed workers.
The mayor underscored that the “no work, no pay” employees who are included are those who are either mandated to undergo self-quarantine for 14 days or their establishments were closed.
Self-employed workers include those street and night market vendors and massage therapists.
In addition, she said affected tricycle and taxi drivers, whose income is gravely affected due to the lesser number of passengers traveling brought about by the imposed mandatory home quarantine, will also be included in the rationing.
Duterte-Carpio recently announced that 10,000 ration cards are currently on standby, but she said CSWDO is currently finalizing the master list.
She said the first batch of the distribution of goods will be extended from March 23 to 27.
CSWDO already set a system on how they will be able to properly distribute it with the assurance that social distancing will still be observed, the mayor said.
Meanwhile, she asked the public’s cooperation and understanding if in case there will be problems and delays in the distribution.
“Di lang ta mangasuko, mag-wild, ug maghilak (Let us refrain from showing our anger, and emotions at this point),” Duterte-Carpio said.