The local government began on Thursday the second wave of distribution of food packs and utilities subsidy to residents here amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis.
Ma. Socorro Rojas, City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) chief, said the distribution started in Barangay Zone 1, the pilot area for the second round of distribution, benefitting some 600 families.
Rojas said each food pack contains a 25-kg. sack of rice, salt, vegetables, and such canned goods as corned beef, beef loaf, and sardines.
Each family-beneficiary also received a subsidy of PHP1,000 for the payment of light (PHP500) and water (PHP500) bills.
The subsidy is directly released to the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative and Zamboanga City Water District, which will be deducted from the bills of the beneficiaries.
Rojas said 250,000 families in this city’s 98 barangays would receive the second wave of food assistance.
The number of beneficiaries was based on the number of quarantine pass the city government has issued, she added.
City secretary, lawyer Kenneth Vincent Beldua, said in a virtual press conference that the local government has allocated PHP263 million for the second round of food assistance and subsidy for light and water. (PNA)
