MANILA, Philippines - Malabon City officials are advising private groups doing their own relief operations in the city to coordinate with city officials to avoid food riots that occurred in two barangays over the weekend.
“We sincerely thank them for their unselfish efforts but there has to be a system,” Mayor Canuto Oreta said, adding that they have police and soldiers to assist the groups “in the conduct of an efficient and orderly relief distribution.”
The STAR found that rival networks GMA-7 and ABS-CBN tried to distribute relief goods, only to have them snatched by residents.
City information chief Bong Padua told The STAR yesterday that GMA-7 personnel were mobbed as they were distributing relief goods over the weekend.
“There was a commotion. The residents jumped into the van and grabbed the relief goods. When the crew closed the van, they pounded on the vehicle, forcing them to withdraw,” Padua said.
He also said a similar incident happened to the ABS-CBN crew who went to Barangay Maysilo.
“Some people who got cooked eggs threw them back at the crew, accusing them of taking too long in distributing the goods. So much food was wasted in this incident. The group had to withdraw from the area,” Padua said.