PASAY CITY -- Senator Christopher “Bong” Go’s outreach team continued to provide much-needed assistance to the hog raisers in Isabela who were affected by the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak, which continues to hurt the country's pig farming industry.
The team distributed meals and masks to a total of 768 farmers at the San Fabian Community Center in Echague, Reina Mercedes municipal gym and San Isidro Municipal Amphitheater on Thursday, November 25. They also gave away bicycles, computer tablets and new pairs of shoes to select recipients to help them face the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a separate distribution, representatives from the Department of Agriculture provided each farmer with P5,000 for every culled pig to augment their income.
In a video message, the senator, who is a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, praised the ongoing local and national efforts to protect the livestock production sector. He appealed for further support from the government to restore the farmers’ livelihoods, enhance their resilience and ensure that their household needs are met.
“Primary source ng kabuhayan ng ating mga kababayan ang agrikultura kung kaya’t dapat mas palakasin pa natin ang mga programang pwedeng sumuporta sa ating mga magsasaka, mangingisda at iba pang kabuhayang pang-agrikultura,” said Go.
“Suportahan at tulungan natin sila na malampasan ang paghihirap na dulot ng pandemya dahil ang sektor na ito ang bubuhay sa ating bansa pagkatapos ng mga krisis na ito,” he continued.
As Chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, Go offered further assistance to the sick and elderly and advised them to visit the Malasakit Center located at the Southern Isabela Medical Center in Santiago City or the Governor Faustino N. Dy, Sr. Memorial Hospital in Ilagan City.
To address the need for an integrated system for availing medical assistance, the lawmaker had principally authored and sponsored the Malasakit Centers Act, which President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law in 2019.
