City to start giving free rice to ‘poor residents’ tomorrow

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City government will start distributing free rice to COVID-affected residents of the city tomorrow, March 25.

Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia, who met with the barangay captains yesterday, said to be able to distribute to at least 200,000 families, they have decided to give 25 kilos per family, instead of 50 kilos.

The city government already purchased 100,000 sacks of rice for the “underprivileged” residents of the city who are being affected by the general community quarantine.

Garcia clarified that they will prioritize those who are displaced or the "no work, no pay" individuals and the "poorest of the poor."

This is why profiling is being conducted first in barangays before the distribution.

"I hope the public understands that we cannot give everyone. We are going to give those who are really in dire need," said Garcia.

He said the venue of the distribution will depend on the barangay captains. They can go house to house if they have enough manpower or they can use the barangay's gym or classrooms.

The Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines will assist during the distribution, which may run up to 10 days. This is to ensure that there is order and the social distancing is observed.

Milk donations not allowed

Meanwhile, the National Nutrition Council-7 reminded the public, particularly organizations and individuals planning to donate food packs and other necessities to areas and population greatly affected by the virus of the country’s “No Milk Donation” policy.

Under Executive Order 51 or The Milk Code and its Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations, “donations of breastmilk substitutes, including infant formula, powdered milk and other milk; feeding bottles, teats and commercial baby food, are not allowed and that these should not be part of general distribution of emergency food packs.”

Further, Department of Health Administrative Order 2007-0017 or the Guidelines on the Acceptance and Processing of Foreign and Local Donations during Emergency and Disaster Situations also states that “infant formula, breastmilk substitutes, feeding bottles, artificial nipples, and teats shall not be items for donation. No acceptance of donation shall be issued for any of the enumerated items.”

NNC-7 Nutrition Program Coordinator Dr. Parolita Mission said that exclusive breastfeeding is the best option for children below six months.

Mission said that this is easy, safe, healthy and practical especially in times of calamities and disasters like this.

Mission cited the World Health Organization’s recommendation to breastfeed infants and young children to boost their immune systems and many other benefits of breastmilk.

NNC-7 further underscored the importance of proper nutrition and reminds the public to follow Pinggang Pinoy and the Ten Kumainments particularly Kumainment No 1 - eat variety of foods every day and Kumainment No 3 – eat fruits and vegetables everyday especially Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin E-rich foods to boost your immune system against viruses including COVID-19 aside from regular exercise, adequate sleep, manage minimize stress and do not smoke as smoking damages the lungs can increase your risk of developing severe disease if you become infected with COVID-19.

Also, an app known as “WeTrace” was introduced the other day, March 22, before some members of the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force on Managing Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-MEID 7) and the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC-7) at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in the Department of Health (DOH) Region 7.

Developed by Cebuano IT expert Eddie Ybañez, the app works by tracking the location of users to generate patient mapping.

In a statement released by the Philippine Information Office-7, Ybañez said that they are looking at those identified as Persons Under Monitoring (PUMs) and Persons Under Investigation (PUIs) to use the app to generate a location map to help facilitate faster contact tracing by health workers.

Ybañez assured that the app will not collect personal information since the app does not require users to register.

The system, instead, generates a unique QR code on the mobile device and then starts tracking, he explained.

Ybañez’s team is currently working with the Cebu provincial government, Department of Health, Philippine National Police, and other concerned government agencies on how the app will be integrated in the government’s COVID-19 response measures.

Ybañez said they are  currently waiting for approval from Google and Apple for the app to be available for Android phones and iPhones before they can formally launch the app to the public. JMD (FREEMAN)