‘Ilonggo pandesal’ to ease the poor’s travails amid COVID-19

By Emme Rose Santiagudo

Iloilo City government and the private sector will produce “Ilonggo pandesal” to help feed the city’s poorest sectors amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis.

The brainchild is a collaboration of the city government and Ilonggo bakeries and milling companies La Filipina Uygongco Corp., Carlos Uy Corp., and Angelina Bakeshop, according to Mayor Jerry Treñas.

“Nagistorya ang akon bata si Paulo Treñas upod si Ted Valderrama nga bata man sang owner sang Angelina. I think this will work very well for us because ang harina halin sa Uygongco, ang mga kalamay and asin halin man sa isa ka dako nga negosyante kag ang ini ilutuon sang Angelina Bakeshop,” he said in a press conference on Friday.

Treñas said the bread will be distributed to the residents in the metro particularly the poorest of the poor who are affected by the enhanced community quarantine in Iloilo City due to Covid-19.

“Ihatag ini sa mga pigado diri gid sa siyudad kag sa iban man nga pumuluyo,” he added.

As of Friday, the city government has received 540 bags of flour from La Filipina Uygonco Foundation Corp., 44 bags of sugar from Great Harvest Commodities and Carlos Uy Corp. for the production of the Ilonggo pandesal.

Using donations from private individuals, the mayor added that he plans to purchase milk for the children in the metro.

Around 240 community kitchens established in the daycare centers in city barangays are being operated by the city government.

The community kitchens are being headed by the parents’ associations of the daycare center including barangay officials.

Uswag Kitchen Patrol has also been in charge of preparing and delivering food to the city’s frontliners.

“It’s really a sense of bayanihan nga ari gid di sa aton. People start working together without being asked or forced or ginapahog. They are doing it for the love of Iloilo City,” the mayor said in one of his radio interviews.