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Kidapawan mayor orders halt of food aid after council proposes probe of rice distributed to affected households
By Malu Cadelina Manar

KIDAPAWAN CITY (April 14) – City Mayor Joseph Evangelista has put on hold the second wave of relief aid after the Sangguniang Panglungsod suggested probe on the quality of rice being distributed to families affected by the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

Evangelista heads the City Inter-Agency Task Force on Covid-19.

On Monday, the Sanggunian has passed a resolution that strongly recommended an in-depth investigation as to where the more than 250 bags of alleged low-quality rice had come from.

In his privilege speech, Kidapawan City councilor Carlo Agamon told the council that the rice being distributed to some residents in Barangay Paco had ‘bukbok’ or weevils, brownish in color, ‘broken’ or not milled properly, and adulterated or mixed with other brand of rice.

In his Facebook account, Agamon posted the rice with ‘bukbuk’ or weevils on it.

Using as basis Agamon’s speech, the Sanggunian passed a resolution that requested the Mayor’s Office to lead the investigation.

Vice-Mayor and SP presiding officer Jivy Roe ‘Jiv-Jiv’ Bombeo said it was the Mayor’s Office that has knowledge as to where the supplies of rice came from.

“Once the supplier is identified, then, appropriate action should be taken,” said Bombeo.

The SP resolution, however, did not sit well with Evangelista.

“Why would the City Mayor’s Office investigate the complaint?   It was the Sanggunian that received the complaints.  It is just proper that they lead the probe, not us,” Evangelista stressed.

Also last week, Evangelista has written a letter addressed to the Sanggunian and made an appeal that the council shall proceed with its probe once the issue on Covid-19 has already been settled or when everything returns to normalcy.

For Evangelista, the complaints the Sanggunian were just 0.18 percent of the total number of households that received the food rations.

The complainants totaled to only 79 as compared to 43,000 households that the city government has supplied with food packs, he said.

Earlier, Evangelista has admitted that they missed checking the quality of rice being supplied to the city government from the traders and millers.

“We had 25,000 bags of rice that needed to be distributed to our affected families.   Nalusutan lang talaga tayo, pero, illan lang naman ‘yun,” he said in a radio interview.

Because of the impending probe, Evangelista has decided to hold in abeyance the second wave of relief distribution.

“Simply put, this investigation the SP has recommended should be done after the pandemic.  In the spirit of transparency, I will go for the investigation, but it must be done by the Sanggunian, and not my office.  Pending their investigation, I will have to put on hold the relief distribution,” he said.

Funds for the second wave of food rationing came from the P29.1 million the Sanggunian has approved for release, two weeks ago.   MALU CADELINA MANAR I RONDA NEWS

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