Ormoc City – City Vice Mayor Nepumoceno Aparis who was tasked by Mayor Eric Codilla to conduct a study of his plan to give rice to support the poorest of the poor families in the city in line with the poverty alleviation program said that some 3623 pupils will be given one kilo of rice for at least three months.
Aparis in an interview told The Star said that selected pupils from Grade I-Grade IV in all schools in the city where school children are malnourished will be given rice in coordination with the local government.
Aparis said this is the city’s answer to the increasing prices of rice which is the main staple of every Filipino. He said the city will spend more than P2 million for this endeavor which they (city officials) believe is one of the most effective solutions to ease the burden.
Aparis told The Star that they already have the numbers of Grade II pupils, onwards from all barangays of the city that would receive the one kilo of rice three times a week which is pegged at 3,116 pupils.
The list of pupils were given by the schools division of the Department of Education which is among the members of the group that studied the program. He said that the DepEd had already picked 507 pupils to be given rice because they have just been enrolled in June unlike the higher grades of which the DepEd has already data and records of this pupils.
“Ang Grades II hangtud sa Grade IV mauy mauna og hatag ani nga programa kay naa naman daan records ang DepEd ani nila.”
“The Grade II and Grade IV pupils will be the first to receive the rice support program because DepEd has already some records about these pupils,” Aparis said.
The program will solve two major problems currently faced by local government units – hunger and school dropout. – Roberto Dejon