Thousands of North Cotabato drought victims get rice rations

KIDAPAWAN CITY -- At least 198,760 peasant families in Kidapawan City and in 11 North Cotabato towns benefited from the continuing rice dispersal operation of the provincial government since April.Vergelita Guilaran, provincial social welfare officer, said at 19,883 bags of rice had been dispersed to peasant families in the affected towns in continuing relief operations that started in April 25.The provincial government’s relief missions were directly supervised and properly documented by the North Cotabato chapter of the Philippine Red Cross.Employees of the provincial media office said their operations covered a total of367 barangays in Kidapawan City and in the municipalities of Arakan, Antipas, Matalam, Alamada, Aleosan,Carmen,Pigcawayan, Midsayap, Banisilan, Makilala and Pikit.Farmers in these areas have been sowing rice and corn seeds in their fields since late April, after rains started falling on their parched farms, made barren by a dry spell that started in November 2015. Guilaran said the North Cotabato provincial government is thankful to the PRC for helping facilitate its rice distribution program, meant to mitigate the sufferings of farmers due to heavy crop losses as a result of the five-month dry spell.Guialaran said they aim to distribute 7,964 bags more of rice in the next five days in the towns of Kabacan (5,419 families) Magpet (14,601 families) Pres. Roxas (9,216 families) Libungan (10,618 families) Tulunan (12,081 families) and in Mlang (17,678 families).Local officials in the towns the provincial government had earlier served had confirmed to reporters that the relief operations were orderly and that only resident farmers were provided with rice supplies.