Rice, Sardines, Noodles: Food Packs From The Barangays Can Be Life Savers

People are getting introduced to different brands of sardines and other canned goods along with instant noodles that come with the kilos of rice being distributed to different households amid the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

This is to put it lightly. For some Luzon residents who have to toil daily to put food on the table, these food packs are lifesavers while they wait for other forms of assistance, including cash.

One Caloocan City resident took to social media to stress how important it is for them to get aid promptly, especially those with children in the households. It must also be noted that two or more families reside in one house.

The video starts with the Facebook user training her camera on the barangay authorities shooing them away. Julie de Jesus Aballa of Barangay Bagong Silang lamented that she had just given birth and she had gone to the barangay hall to ask for help.

They were hungry, she said, and had nowhere else to go.

Upon arriving at the barangay hall, Aballa and her fellow residents were kept waiting outside. The gates were locked.

All they wanted was an audience with barangay captain Joel Bacolod, according to the video. But this was rejected.

Feeling helpless in the situation, she switched on her phone and took a video of their heated exchange.

In the video she uploaded on Facebook, which has been shared 67,000 times since she posted it on March 31, they were told that there was nothing to give as relief in this time of the pandemic. Assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), she was told, was limited and not all could receive the aid.

“Wala pang ayuda galing DSWD… Hindi lahat nabibigyan, limitado lang ang nabigyan ng DSWD,” a barangay official said in the video.

Hearing this, Aballa zoomed in on the sacks of rice piled up behind the gate.

“’Yung mga bigas na ’yan, saan ipapamigay ’yan?” Aballa’s mother could be heard in the video screaming.

 They refused to believe the barangay hall could not give any relief for the hungry.

 “Maniwala ako kung totoo kaso hindi. Pinili niyo lang bahay na pinagbibigyan niyo. Nahuli ka!… Si Susan si Rosita, si Malou, ’yun lang binigyan niyo! Samantalang maraming nagugutom!” Aballa’s mother pointed out.

In a Facebook post, Aballa said she only wanted to ask for help after going through a traumatic experience of being rejected by different hospitals when she was about to give birth to her premature baby due to fears of COVID-19.

She stated in her post that she had to give birth in a private hospital because her baby would need an incubator.

“Hindi niyo kami pinapakausap. Buhay po ng bata ’yun, kanina pa pong hindi niyo kami pinapakausap,” Aballa bewailed in her video.

But their pleas fell on deaf ears. Instead, they were castigated for causing a ruckus.

“Huwag kayong magwawala. Huwag kayong gumawa ng eskandalo. Lahat naman may paraan,” the barangay official could be heard saying.

They were outraged at the public official’s response.

“Kuya, kaya kami gumagawa ng eskandalo kasi nagugutom na ’yung tao,” another woman wearing a face mask interjected. 

“May mga anak kami. Walang pambili ng gatas. Saan kami kukuha ng pambili?” she screamed at the barangay official, who could do nothing but to try to calm them down.

But they would not be silenced. Aballa, still sore from giving birth, took to social media.

In the caption, she immediately called the attention of Caloocan City Mayor Oscar Malapitan, who has been receiving flak for the delayed release of relief goods.

“Calling the attention of Mayor Oca Malapitan, sana’y makita niyo ito at makarating sa inyo ang post ko na ito para po malaman niyo kung paano kumilos ang mga staff ng Barangay 176,” Aballa wrote, referring to Barangay Bagong Silang, the country’s biggest barangay and home to over 300,000 people or 65,000 household families, according to the barangay office.

It has been a week since she gave birth, and yet the barangay captain did not bother to give them an audience, she complained to the mayor.

“Kahit na alam niyong operada ako, wala pang isang linggo ang opera ko. Ang gusto lang naman namin ay personal na makausap at makahingi ng tulong kay (Sir) Joel Bacolod. Pero ano pong ginawa niyo? Pinag-antay niyo kami nang napakatagal sa labas ng gate, na parang walang nangyayari,” Aballa wrote.

They were desperate for help, Aballa said, and all they wanted was to get a share from the sacks of rice piled up behind the barangay hall gates.

“Hindi po kami lalapit kung hindi kami nangangailangan. Pati ’yung ibang tao sa labas, nagwala na, kita naman po sa video. Napakaraming sako ng bigas na nakatambak sa barangay ninyo, samantalang ang daming residente ng Barangay 176 ang nagugutom. Tapos natatakot kayo na ma-video-han kayo. At sasabihin niyo na kakasuhan niyo kami,” Aballa said.

A barangay official in Bagong Silang, who asked not be named for fear of reprisal, told The Philippine STAR the food packs from the DSWD could not yet be released because there weren’t enough for everyone.

With Bagong Silang having 65,000 households, the barangay hall had received only 486 food boxes from DSWD for distribution.

The barangay official said they had already distributed 74,748 relief goods provided by the barangay and 17,890 from city hall.

Relief goods would be given for the next batch of 60,000 household families, the barangay official promised.

While help is on the way, all that remains for Aballa is to air their grievances online.

“Sa mga taga-Bagong Silang po, pakitulungan ako i-share ang post at video na ito. Tulungan niyo ako… Para po sa anak ko na kailangan ng tulong na nasa ospital pa po,” Aballa pleaded.

Sought for comment, Malapitan appealed for his constituents’ understanding, saying city hall had just started distributing the 500,000 packs of relief goods city hall had promised.

“To those who have not yet received aid, please wait. You will receive the relief goods,” Malapitan told The STAR.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has been issuing subpoenas to barangay captains and mayors who are disobeying quarantine guidelines such as the speedy release of relief goods.

The NBI had summoned the barangay captain of Talon Uno, Las Piñas City for the delayed distribution of relief goods, which he has reportedly denied.

Public officials are not the only ones being threatened with cases. The barangay had threatened to sue those who picketed outside the barangay hall for causing alarm and scandal.

But this threat did not sway Aballa from fighting for the right of the hungry.

All she had in mind, she said, was the welfare of her premature baby, who was still in the hospital at the time that she sought help from the barangay.

“Sige po, kasuhan niyo kami. Hindi po ako natatakot. Dahil tama ang pinaglalaban ko. Buhay ng anak ko ang nakasalalay,” she said.