Barili mayor’s response to Avila’s column

Dear Mr. Bobit Avila,

I write in response to your column that came out on May 6, 2020 wherein you published a letter questioning the assistance given by the Municipality of Barili claiming that the people were given “only five kilos of rice and nothing else,” and comparing Barili with other local governments.

The situation is not the same for all local government units. We have different fiscal standing, and we do not serve the same number of people. Each chief executive is bound to respond to the crisis in a matter he sees best for his locality. While those in the community may think only for their own benefit and what possible things they can get, we at the helm of governance will have to have a bird’s eye view not just for one sector, not just for one aspect, and not just for one period of time.

Foresight dictates that as mayor of Barili, I also make sure that we will be able to survive this crisis as long as it lasts, and as of the moment this crisis has no sign of ending soon. Circumspection is thus required, careful that we do not disburse all our resources in one go. With our economic standing and other factors considered, my decision right now as mayor is anchored on the need to be able to sustain subsidy should this continue for months.

Despite the Covid-19 crisis, we in Barili are making sure that other government services do not come to a halt. Operating on a skeleton workforce, we have done our utmost in delivering not just relief packs for those who need them most, but also to deliver other services needed by other sectors. And it’s not true that we are giving only rice. We give quality premium rice.  We also provided households in all 42 barangays with corned beef, milk, coffee, bihon, other needs. We have long completed our first round of distribution, and are wrapping up with the second round. The third batch of relief packs are being packed as of now, and these also contain added items such as laundry soap, alcohol, and a month’s supply of Vitamin C. In Barili, we put premium on quality instead of quantity, aron sulit ang moabot sa tagsa-tagsa ka panimalay. We plan to continue with the distribution as long as necessary, and as many times needed.

A crisis declaration may have made disbursement easier for us, but as I have told our Municipal Council, prudence must dictate our spending, and accounting rules must still be followed to the letter. With all LGUs scrambling to order stuff for relief packs, sourcing these from suppliers is already a challenge. Repacking and distribution to all households in all 42 barangays are no easy tasks.

Lastly, I would like to take exception to your publishing of the letter when you yourself admitted that you “cannot verify the veracity” of it. Even media interns would take to heart verification as the most basic tenet of journalism, followed by taking the side of the other party. Whether this is recklessness, negligence, or malice, only you know your truth. But perhaps, the answer can be gleaned from the last portion of your column that says “I really don’t know if any of the siblings of Governor Garcia are running Dumanjug ug Barili….”  This seems odd knowing that you are always present in Capitol gatherings and have access to the governor’s staff, and that verifying information today is as quick as an internet search.

However, granting that it’s true you do not really know of me, let this letter be my introduction to you: I, Marlon Garcia, mayor of the town of Barili.