Rizal mayor to non-poor residents: 'Wag na umasa sa gobyerno; mangutang muna

A mayor from Rizal on Tuesday appealed to his constituents who have stable jobs to no longer rely on the local government for relief assistance, which he said was already reserved for the town's "poorest of the poor."

Interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV on Tuesday, Taytay, Rizal mayor Joric Gacula said affected residents who currently have no source of income but have jobs to come back to after the Luzon-wide quarantine should just consider borrowing goods from sari-sari stores in their neighborhood.

He said the local government is currently prioritizing “the poorest of the poor” in the distribution of relief goods, since they are the ones most at risk of suffering from hunger during the month-long lockdown which ends in mid-April.

“Pero ‘yun naman ibang may kakayahan kunwari ikaw ay isang Grab driver na kumikita ng P1,500. Alam naman natin after the crisis, ikaw naman ay makakapagtrabaho ulit at may pambayad ka,” he said.

“Siguro 'wag ka muna doon sa category na iasa mo lang sa gobyerno ang pagkain mo. Siguro dumiskarte ka muna ng sarili mo,” he added.

Gacula, in a Facebook Live video, earlier said: “Maaaring tamaan (ang mamamayan) ng gutom ngayong panahong ito. Kung kayo naman ay malakas sa tindahan, sabi nga ng ating Pangulo, utangin muna sa tindahan yung ating pangkain,” Gacula said in the video.

Due to the expenses for disinfection and relief, the mayor expressed fears that the fund of the local government would not last long.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier placed the entire Luzon, the Philippines biggest island, under an enhanced community quarantine to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus disease 2019.

Under a lockdown, a strict home quarantine is being implemented in all households, transportation and work are suspended, provision for food and essential health services is being regulated.

Additional food and other basic necessities are being provided by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to families that are hardest hit by the economic impact of the enhanced community quarantine. -Joviland Rita/MDM, GMA News