Manila resumes food aid distribution

MANILA, Philippines — The Manila city government on Saturday resumed the distribution of food assistance to at least 700,000 families under the Food Security Program (FSP).

This marks the fourth straight month of the distribution of food boxes to help families cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayor Isko Moreno said around 149,000 food boxes have been distributed to 122 barangays in District 1 as of Sunday.

Each box contains three kilos of rice, 16 canned goods and eight sachets of coffee.

Personnel of the Department of Public Services, Department of Engineering and Public Works and Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau facilitated the distribution of food aid.

Moreno said city hall allocated P3 billion for the FSP.

The local government realigned the budget for road works to fund the program.

“Our priority is to provide food for each family in Manila. We want to make sure that they will not starve,” Moreno said.

Launched in February, the FSP will run until July.