A day after prohibiting the selling and delivery of rice outside the Province of Davao del Nore, Governor Edwin Jubahib suspends the order and allows the free flow of goods in and outside the province.
The suspension of the prohibition, Jubahib said is in compliance with a memorandum issued by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in early March.
The governor ordered the prohibition of rice trading over the weekend by virtue of a memorandum order signed on Friday.
The memo orders rice producers and traders in the province to stop trading to ensure enough supply during the community quarantine period.
However, on March 24, 2020, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo M. Año issued a memorandum to all governors, city mayors, municipal mayors, punong barangay, DILG regional directors, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) Minister of Local Government, to ensure the unhampered movement of food and essential goods.
A Department of Agriculture circular also mandates that all “All agricultural stores/outlets nationwide and animal clinics must be allowed to operate… in order for farmers, fisherfolks, and livestock raisers with the essential inputs to sustain and support the production and processing of agricultural and fishery commodities and/or products.”
Meanwhile, a local government unit in Maguindanao has ordered municipal disaster workers to buy the vegetable products of local farmers and include these in food packages that the local government unit (LGU) is giving to its constituents amid the community quarantine due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Mayor Mary Joy Estephanie Midtimbang of Datu Anggal Midtimbang, Maguindanao, said that instead of buying vegetables in other areas, the local government decided to buy locally-grown agricultural products.
“We are packing food packs for our constituents while quarantine is being implemented in the province and in town to contain the spread of Covid-19,” Midtimbang said.
The vegetables are packed together with rice, canned goods, and other food provisions to be given to Datu Anggal Midtimbang residents “since they could not go out to buy food in the market or in other towns”.
Beneficiaries of the “buy local” program are women farmers who were recipients of a livelihood project from the local government several months back.
“I never thought at the start that the livelihood project would be of great help now that we are facing this crisis,” Midtimbang said.
She added that vegetables, aside from boosting the immune system of every individual observing community quarantine, also provide income to farmers during this time of economic slowdown.
Among the vegetable harvested for distribution to local residents are squash, eggplant, “okra” (lady’s fingers), onion leaves, camote leaves, tomatoes, and other locally-produced vegetables.
The mayor said the LGU has just completed its first round of food rationing with vegetables included in the package.
“The next round will also be vegetable-filled food ration,” she added.
Datu Anggal Midtimbang town has a population of about 25,000 inhabitants living in seven villages. (with reports from PNA)
