Ilocos Norte

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Provincial Government frontline offices have been distributing food packs to barangays affected by granular lockdown as part of its aggressive COVID-19 response.

Nearly 33,000 food packs have been sent to identified lockdown barangays from January 2021 to the present. These came from the Provincial Government, national agencies, and donations.

On Tuesday, Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc personally delivered the relief items to the lockdown barangays of Batac City, Paoay, and Bacarra.

Accompanying him are staff of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office and the Office of the Barangay Affairs.

Yesterday, the team also distributed food packs for Brgys. Jose, San Cristobal, Sto. Tomas, San Andres, San Roque, San Joaquin, San Agustin, Sta. Barbara, San Francisco, San Vicente, and San Leandro in Sarrat; and Nalbo, Darayday, Raraburan, Buttong, San Miguel, Brgy. 5 and 21 San Pedro, San Andres, San Matias, Nuestra Señora de Consolacion, San Lorenzo, Sta. Joaquina, Nuestra Señora del Rosario, and Santa Balbina in Laoag City.

Sarrat Mayor Remigio Medrano thanked the province for its prompt relief operations, saying, "Dakkel panagyamanmi iti Govierno Provinsial nga idadauluan ni Governor Manotoc. Kasapulanmi unay dagitoy inpaay da nga ayuda itatta para kadagiti kailianmi a naapektaran ti lockdown." 

(We are grateful to Governor Manotoc and the Provincial Government for providing us with food assistance, which is urgently needed by our constituents affected by lockdown.)

He added: "Inpalagip ni governor nga itultuloymi iti panang-secure kadagiti kailiantayo tapno saan nga agwaras ti virus. Isu araramiden mi amin a kabaelanmi."

(The Governor reminded us, officials, that we must protect our constituents from the virus, and we are doing all we can to carry out this responsibility.)

The team returned to Bacarra, Batac City, Laoag City, and Sarrat today to resume their food assistance program.