Vico sees sabotage in Pasig relief distribution

MANILA, Philippines — Chaos marred Pasig City’s relief operations after residents mobbed city hall employees who were distributing food packs in Nagpayong, Barangay Pinagbuhatan on Saturday, Mayor Vico Sotto said yesterday.

Sotto expressed suspicion that the commotion was intended to sabotage the relief efforts of the local government.

He said the distribution of food packs was orderly at first until a resident called his neighbors who were not yet scheduled to receive relief goods.

“There was one person who spread the wrong information that everyone could get their share. So the residents rushed toward our team,” Sotto said.

He said the person responsible for the commotion made a scene by screaming while filming the crowd.

“It saddens me that there are still people who cause disorder amid the crisis we are facing,” Sotto said.

He apologized to the residents for the incident.

As of yesterday, Pasig recorded 33 cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with three deaths.

First fatality

The city government of Navotas reported yesterday its first fatality from COVID-19.

The patient, who was among the city’s persons under investigation (PUIs), tested positive for the virus five days after he was admitted to the local hospital on March 24, Mayor Toby Tiangco announced on his Facebook page.

The patient died of tuberculosis secondary to COVID-19.

Tiangco said the number of COVID-19 cases would increase unless the public would follow the government’s call to stay home.

There were 21 PUIs and 125 persons under monitoring in Navotas. Of the number, one tested negative for the virus and three are awaiting test results from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.