SANTA FE, CEBU — Gov. Gwen Garcia expressed disappointment at the mendicant mentality shown by online detractors of the province-wide feeding program during her speech at the Caravan of Services here on Nov. 16.
“Di na mahimo nga ang tanang panginahanglan, kami na lang. Mao na ang gitawag og mendicant attitude. Naghulat lang og nag-nga-nga ang baba . . . Dili na mahimo. Motabang ta ninyo, aron kamo motabang sa inyong kaugalingon,” Gov. Gwen said.
The governor was reacting to some Facebook commentaries of the Capitol’s Sugbo School Feeding Program. The complaints came from disgruntled parents who said they were the ones who had to prepare the food for the program, as well as contribute other ingredients, even if schools, barangays, and puroks all over Cebu have Sugbusog gardens.
In their social media comments, they even asked the governor to just drop the feeding program and distribute five kilos of rice instead to the families of all public school student-beneficiaries
The Capitol has set aside P197 Million as initial budget for the program that is slated to feed 878,619 students enrolled in 1,494 DepEd schools allover Cebu Province, from Kindergarten to senior high school, for the entire duration of the school year.
The governor said those who say this are greedy and clueless as to how the province is run. By providing dole-outs and rice allowance to families of school children for the duration of the school year, the Capitol would have to shell out billions of pesos, thereby gravely limiting funds for other Capitol programs and services.
“Kung pagastoon ko ninyog bilyon-bilyon-bilyon, ayaw namo pag-expect makapalit pakog bag-o ninyong uniporme, ayaw namo pag-expect nga makahatag pako sa uban pa nato nga abag, ayaw na lang mo paghuna-huna makapamalit pami niini nga mga bleachers,” she said.
“Kining tanan nga atong nahimo, undangon ta na tanan kay ako na lang ni igasto ang tanang kwarta sa probinsya, bilyon-bilyon-bilyon, para matagaan ning mga hakog og tag singko kilos nga bugas para sila na mismoy magbuot,” she added.
To remedy the situation, the Capitol will fully explain the program to all stakeholders in a general assembly to be held at the spacious IEC Pavilion in Mabolo, Cebu City in the coming days.
It will be attended by Department of Education’s schools divisions superintendents, district supervisors, school heads of the 1,494 public schools all over the province, and each school’s Parent-Teacher Association officers, including its detractors, so that they might begin a dialogue for better understanding.
“Tinabangay man ni. Dili man ni mahimo gobyerno na lang tanan. Tinabangay: gobyerno, Parent-Teacher Association, ug ang DepEd. Sa napulo ka bulan nga nag-eskwela ang pinalangga natong mga estudyante, duna gyoy makaon,” Gov. Gwen said. | IPA