CSSDO: Rice donations for NorCot farmers to proceed

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.
The Davao City Social Service and Development Office (CSSDO) will proceed with the city’s rice donations to the social welfare office of North Cotabato intended for protesting farmers.
This despite of the statement of North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza’s warning to politicians not to make the province “as a staging ground for their political agenda.”
This was clarified by CSSDO head Malou Bermudo in an interview yesterday.
Bermudo said the city government decided to give the donation to North Cotabato provincial government and not directly to the protesting famers because the city wants to avoid any issues that donation is not intended for political advancement of Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte who is running for president.
“Mag turn-over lang ta didto dili kita ang mag-distribute didto. (We will just turn-over it there and we will not be the one to distribute it),” she said.
“Siyempre, dili pud kita ang makipag-dialogue didto (Of course, we will not also make a dialogue there),” she added.
She said the city consulted the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on what to do in sending the sacks of rice and the polling body told the city officials to give it to the counterpart local government.
“The city asked clearance from the Comelec that is why the donations will be given to their local government,” she said.
The video of Taliño-Mendoza went viral in the social media sites after she hit the politicians who are planning to give donations to protesting farmers.
“Sa lahat ng kandidato sino man ang pumunta dito, huwag niyong gawing staging ground ang North Cotabato sa propaganda (To all candidates, anyone who will come here, do not make North Cotabato a staging ground for your propaganda),” Taliño-Mendoza said.
Meanwhile, Bermudo said the city has already sent 200 sacks of rice to Kidapawan City and the city is still receiving donations for the protesting farmers in North Cotabato.
The governor has since been the subject of negative reactons of netizens on social media.
Bermudo said the CSSDO along with other city government officials will appear today during the City Council’s regular session for the approval of the donation that will be sent to North Cotabato.
Earlier, City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte vowed assistance to the farmers who mounted a barricade in the highway of Kidapawan City which resulted to a bloody dispersal on Friday.
Duterte said on Firday night that the city has done this before when it also extended assistance to areas affected by typhoon Yolanda and other calamities. He said it is the only thing that he can immediately do for now as a local chief executive.