Aside from being one of the two remaining provinces of the Cordillera with zero confirmed Covid-19 case, Mountain Province, through the local government of Sadanga, has earned the respect and gratitude of the national government for handling the pandemic the Cordillera way.
In the virtual presser aired over national government stations and partner broadcast media outfits, Social Welfare and Development Sec. Rolando Andaya has praised Sadanga for being the first LGU in the Cordillera that completed the distribution of the Social Amelioration Program cash assistance.
He also cited the LGU for returning excess SAP funds and thanked Mayor Gabino Ganggangan for waiving their share of food relief packs back in March.
“Binabati kita sa mga magagandang practices na iyong ginawa sa Sadanga. We emphasize na maraming practices ang Sadanga na kailangang i-broadcast natin sa buong sambayanan. ‘Yung pagsoli ng amount, dito nakikita yung kultura nila na pagtutulungan at bayanihan na kung sino ang may kaya ay nagbabahagi sa mga nangangailangan,” Bautista told the Sadanga mayor during the virtual meet-up hosted by Presidential Communications Operations Office Sec. Martin Andanar on June 2.
Bautista also said that in the Cordillera, 50 of the 77 LGUs did not submit a list of left-out constituents.
“Dito natin makikita ang kultura ng mga taga-Cordillera na hanggat kaya nila ay hindi sila nanghihingi,” he said.
For Ganggangan, the Sadanga way against hunger is being on the fields during the planting season of rice, harvesting the grains and stocking them up in the granaries or in their houses.
Ganggangan is confident nobody in the town will run out of rice supply.
He said Sadanga could endure the next two months and their rice supply could be soon replenished with the coming harvest season.
In the distribution of SAP, Ganggangan said the municipal government has strictly followed the guidelines. The process was simple and organized: Based on the guidelines, punong barangays together with social workers identified who were eligible to receive the assistance in the barangays. The lists were transmitted to the municipal government and personnel were sent to disburse the payout. – Hanna C. Lacsamana
