Bulacan Provincial Public Affairs Office

Tinanggap nina Gobernador Daniel R. Fernando (gitna) at Bise Gobernador Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado (pangalawa mula sa kaliwa) ang 2,000 mula sa kabuuang 4,000 na food packs na ipinagkaloob ng Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) sa pangunguna ng Pangkalahatang TagapamahalaEduardo V. Manalo na kinatawan ni Ka Noel Pamintuan at Ka Gilbert Soriano ng INC Distrito ng Bulacan South sa ginanap na programang “Iglesia Ni Cristo Lingap Sa Mamamayan ng Lalawigan ng Bulacan” sa Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium, Lungsod ng Malolos, Bulacan nitong Lunes upang magbigay ng kagaanan sa mga Bulakenyo na naapektuhan ng COVID-19. Nasa larawan din sina (mula kaliwa) Bokal Alexis Castro, Bernardo Ople, Jr., at Allan Andan. Larawan ng Bulacan Provincial Public Affairs Office

DONA REMEDIOS TRINIDAD (DRT), Bulacan–Elite Philippine Army (PA) troops First Scout Ranger Regiment (FSRR) will now guard Bulacan’s portion of the Sierra Madre mountain ranges against illegal loggers after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) region 3 office tapped them to further boost the protection and development of the remaining forests area of the province. 

Paquito Moreno, Jr., executive director of the DENR in Central Luzon and Lt. Gen. Jose C.  Faustino Jr., Commanding General of the PA recently forged a partnership for the protection of the Sierra Madre portions in Bulacan.
Under their signed memorandum of agreement, the DENR will identify a 14-hectare land in Barangay Kalawakan in this mountainous town where the FSRR troops can build its jungle-based and training detachment (JBTD).
Illegal logging activities are rampant in Barangay Kalawakan particularly in Sitios Kambubuyugan and Maugat. Illegally cut logs are being hauled off the forests by allowing them to run through Gapang River. 
The partnership will help prevent the actual cutting of trees in the forest instead of the traditional approach of apprehending suspected illegal loggers while transporting forest contrabands.

Moreno said tapping the FSRR is in line with Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu’s order to them to prevent the cutting of trees to ensure the survival of the forest.
“The support of the Philippine Army is a big boost in our anti-illegal logging campaign. They have been our steady and reliable partner in the enforcement of forestry laws. And this time they will also assist us in the protection and maintenance of established NGP plantations,” Moreno said. 
The Sierra Madre mountain ranges, situated near the Pacific Ocean serves as a major typhoon barrier for thousands of people living in North, Central and Southern Luzon areas. Likewise, Sierra Madre hosts the Angat Dam Watershed Area where Angat Dam which supplies Metro Manila with 97% of its water requirement is situated. 
Moreno said in particular, the FSRR will aid the DENR in its campaign against anti-illegal logging including the development of an area under the National Greening Program (NGP).

The DENR will also provide the FSRR the necessary training in the implementation of NGP including seedling production and plantation protection and maintenance.
Faustino vowed to strengthen the forest protection efforts and further develop the NGP plantations in the province.

“The agreement will further strengthen the alliance between the DENR and FSRR to foster environmental protection and end once and for all the illegal logging here in Bulacan,” he added. 
Moreno expressed his gratitude to the PA for their support in the government’s forest protection and greening program.  Meanwhile, the DENR has also awarded a special patent covering some 49 hectares to the Camp Tecson of the PA as part of the “Handog Titulo” program of the government and under the DENR administrative order (DAO) No. 2016-21 also known as the guidelines governing the processing of the request for proclamation and issuance of Special patents over agricultural lands. 
The FSRR is based in Camp Tecson in Barangay Tartaro, San Miguel town.
FSRR is known as the elite force of the PA being the training ground of special forces, officers soldiers being deployed to war and conflict-thorn areas in the country particularly in Mindanao. 
FSRR established in 1950 is an anti-guerilla, jungle warfare, raiding operations, unconventional warfare, counter terrorism including hostage rescue operations.

_{CALUMPIT—Still being heard in Congress and has yet to be passed as a law, the “Ayuda Bill,” House Bill No. 8597 which seeks to provide each Filipino family with a one-time P10,000 assistance or P1,500 per family member affected of the COVID 19 pandemic this year has already benefited ten poorest of the poor families in Bulacan.}

_{Bulacan First District Rep. Jonathan Sy-Alvarado, one of the proponents of the bill said that pending its approval, the P10,000 cash aid to the group of Maricris Peralta, 39, from Barangay Sto, Nino this town, a former canteen attendant in Baguio City who lost job because of the pandemic were sourced through private donations to his group in Congress called the “Back To Service“(BTS).}  

_{Former House Speaker Allan Peter Cayetano heads the BTS which filed the bill in February for all Filipino families whether rich or poor to benefit. .} 

_{The Ayuda Bill which is for the national government to allot multi-billion worth of cash to about 40 million families from the 130 million Filipinos is now at the Economic Affairs Committee in Congress, Alvarado told reporters.} 

_{The group has already provided for Quezon City, Caloocan City, Marikina, Camarines Sur, Laguna and Cavite residents.}

_{Alvarado explained that the COVID 19 breaks the barrier between rich and poor as well off families no longer exempt themselves from accepting “ayudas” be in cash or in kind.}

_{The Ayuda Bill is like the Bayanihan Act 1 and 2 which has a separate funding from the national government.} 

_{Alvarado said the funds to be spared in this aid program is only a small figure from the P4.3 Trillion budget of the national government.} 

_{He hopes the bill will be passed this year for all the Filipinos to benefit.} 

_{The congressman explained that the the P10,000 will be the spark plug of the Philippine economy in these dark days because of the pandemic. People will have money to pay for tricycle ride, money to buy lugaw and carinderias will be able to open again and have a revolving fund and hire attendants. That would mean job down at the bottom line of economic cycle. Unlike today that we have a dead economy, he further explained.} 

_{Peralta and nine other family beneficiaries from the first district were fetched from their respective homes and were brought to Alvarado’s district office to receive the aid. Cayetano through a virtual program encouraged them to remain steadfast with their goals and dreams for their families despite the economic devastation COVID 19 brought to the lives of many people.}

SIYUDAD NG MALOLOS—Kaya ng national government ibigay sa mga Bulakenyo ang mga bakunang kailangan ng mga ito laban sa Coronavirus (COVID 19) at hindi na kailangang gastahin sa ngayon ng Bulacan Provincial Government ang P130-Million pondo na inilaan dito, ayon  kay Secretary Carlito Galvez, head of the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Sa isang text message reply ni Secretary Galvez sa NEWS CORE, sinabi nitong pinayuhan niya si Gov. Daniel Fernando na huwag mag-alala sa bakunang kailangan ng mga Bulakenyo dahil may sapat na kakayahan ang national government upang ipagkaloob ito partikular sa National Capital Region at sa Plus Bubble na mga probinsiya kabilang ang Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite at Rizal.

“Yes, there is enough vaccine for NCR PLUS and other mostly affected areas….”.

Kinumpirma ng Kailihim na pinayuhan nga niya ang gobernador na mas makabubuting sa ibang programa o proyekto laban sa COVID 19 sa lalawigan gamitin ang nasabing allotted budget.  

Naunana itong ipinahayag ni Gob. Fernando noong Miyerkules sa harap ng mga representatives ng 21 bayan at tatlong siyudad sa lalawigan sa loob ng Capitol Gymnasium na tumanggap ng 3,265,167 na face masks na ibinaba sa Bulacan sa ilalim ng “Mask Para sa Masa” program ng Office of the President. Naroon din sa nasabing event ang mga benepisyaryo ng Tulong Panghanapbubay sa Ating Disadvantageous/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) na kaloob ng tanggapan ni Senador Joel Villanueva.

Gayundin, ito rin ang pahayag ng gobernador sa NEWS CORE at iba pang mamamahayag sa panayam sa nasabing programa.

Kung kaya naman ay nauna ng pinulong ng punong lalawigan si Dr. Hjordis Marushka Celis, director ng Bulacan Medical Center Director, head Response Cluster of COVID 19 Provincial Task Force and co-chair of the Vaccination Operation Center of Bulacan upang pag-usapan ang equipments na kailangang kailangan ng ating lalawigan upang palakasin ang kakayahan ng ating mga hospitals upang mapagaling ang ating mga kababayang tinamaan ng COVID 19.

Priority sa mga bibilin at paglalaanan ng pondo mula sa nasabing P130-Million na dapat pambili ng bakuna kontra COVID 19 ay ang mga Intensive Care Units (ICU) at marami pang ibang pinakamahahalagang gamit o aparato.

Sa ngayon, sa ilalim ng Bulacan COVID 19 Surge Design, pinalaki at pinalawak hanggang 200 bed capacities ang Bulacan Infection Control Center (BICC) na siyang COVID hospital ng Bulacan dahil sa pamamagitan ng pag-gamit na rin ng OB Gyne Building ng Bulacan Medical Center bilang dagdag na COVID 19 hospital. Sa ilalim nito ay may 30 ICU beds ang BICC at OB Gyne Building kabilang ang dialysis units and machines.

Subalit ayon sa gobernador ay kulang pa rin ito at saksi siya paghihirap ng ating mga kababayan sa mahabang pilang dinaranas ng mga ito para ma-admit sa BICC.

“Kaya’t nagpapasalamat tayo at may pambili tayo sa kailangan nating dagdag na hospital equipments tulad ng mga ICU upang mapag-serbisyuhan natin ang lalo’t higit nating mga nangangailangang pasyente ng COVID-19. Malaking tulong ang pagsagot ng national government sa ating mga bakuna,” paliwanag ng gobernador.

Ayon sa 70% herd immunity requirement, nasa mahigit 2 milyong Bulakenyo ang dapat mabakunahan mula sa mahigit 3.2 milyon nitong residente.   

Sa ngayon, nabakunahan na ang mga medical front liners, seniors citizens at mga co-morbidity cases. Malaking porsiyento pa ang naiiwang hindi nababakunahan.

Sa pulong ni Pangulong Duterte sa Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Emerging Infectious Disease noong Miyerkules ng gabi, ibinalita ni Secretary Galvez kay Pangulo na padating ngayong mga susunod na linggo at buwan ang mahigit dalawang milyong bakuna at inaasahang ngayong taon din darating ang malalaki pang bahagi nito para sa pangangailangan ng mga Pilipino.    

Noong Huwebes ay nagpahayag ng pangamba si Bise Gob. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado sa isang privilege speech sa regular session ng sangguninag panlalawigan at sinabi nitong mabuting ituloy na ng Capitolyo ang pagbili ng mga bakuna sapagkat iyon lamang ang talagang magliligtas sa mga Bulakenyo mula sa napaka-mapinsala at mabagsik na COVID 19.

Kahit na daw sinabi ng national government ma sagot na nito ang bakuna ng mga Bulakenyo ay mas mabuti na ring bumili na ang lalawigan at pumasok na ito sa tripartite agreement upang makabili na.

Subalit ayon kay Gob. Fernando bukod sa advise ni Secretary Galvez na ang national government na ang bahala sa bakunang kailangan ng mga Bulakenyo, kahit pa umano makipag-tripartie ay hindi rin magiging priority na mapagbilan ang Bulacan sapagkat ang supply sa national government ang inuuna.    

Ayon sa gobernador, nariyan at nakikita ng lahat na halimbawa ang mga bayan o siyudad na nauna ng nakipag-tripartite subalit nananatiling wala pa ang kanilang inorder na bakuna.

Lubos ang pag-aalala ni Bise Gob. Alvarado sa higit na lalong proteksiyong kailangan ng mga Bulakenyo mula sa COVID 19 lalo na nga at marami ng Bulakenyo ang namatay dahil dito kabilang ang limang active medical front liners at essential workers ng Capitolyo. Maging si Gob. Fernando ay tinamaan din mismo ng COVID 19 noong Setyembre.

Pahabol ng gobernador, habang naghihintay ang lahat sa bakuna ay pinatatatag ng Bulacan ang lahat ng hospitals nito lalo na ang BICC at BMC kontra COVID 19. Base sa pinakahuling tala ng Bulacan, ang mga namatay dahil sa sakit na COVID 19 ay umabot na sa 646 at ang mga kaso ay 26 665, habang ang recoveries ay 23,256.

City of Malolos- The Metro Pacific-led NLEX Corporation has joined the cause of community pantries as it donates food items in 20 barangays covered by its expressway network to help those in need amid the ongoing pandemic.

J. Luigi L. Bautista, president and general manager of NLEX Corporation, said that the company donated sacks of rice, boxes of canned goods, and cases of noodles to community pantries in Caloocan City; Meycauayan, Bocaue, and Malolos in Bulacan; San Simon, San Fernando, Apalit, Mabalacat, Porac, and Floridablanca in Pampanga, and Hermosa, Bataan.

The tollway company has stepped up to support the ongoing initiatives of individuals who started setting up community pantries to provide free food and other essentials to the members of the communities who have lost their income because of the pandemic.

“We are deeply inspired by the bayanihan being exemplified in the community pantries sprawling across the country. We’d like to help ease the impact of the pandemic and contribute in our own little way especially in areas within the vicinity of NLEX and SCTEX,” said Bautista, highlighting that “this is also part of the company’s commitment to give back to our kababayans and efforts to strengthen our engagement with communities.”

NLEX personnel made rounds to hand over the food donations to local community pantry organizers. Safety protocols and other measures were strictly followed during the distribution.

Chairman Marites Chua Go of Barangay 156 in Caloocan City, expressed gratitude for the donations. “In this challenging time of economic crisis due to the pandemic, such support has been very much needed. The true spirit of Filipino Bayanihan has been humbly exhibited to our neighborhood.” Last year, NLEX Corp. along with other MPTC companies distributed food donations to 220 barangays within the MPTC expressway network. They also provided Noche Buena baskets to 8,550 medical frontliners and spearheaded a donation drive to purchase 4,500 personal protective equipment for health workers in eight North and South Luzon hospitals. The company also offered free shuttle and free toll to doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to support the mobility needs of frontline workers in COVID-19 response.

BULAKAN–San Miguel Corporation (SMC) has ramped up its micro-entrepreneurship program for former residents of Barangay Taliptip in Bulakan, Bulacan, with 11 cooperative groups set to start their own SMC community reseller stores in different areas of the province.

The beneficiaries, some 53 former settlers at the project site for SMC’s Manila International Airport project in Bulacan, recently graduated from an intensive entrepreneurship training course provided by SMC, to prepare them to manage their own businesses and become partners of the company.

To give them a headstart, SMC provided them with their initial inventories consisting of Magnolia Chicken and Purefoods branded products, along with refrigeration equipment.

The livelihood training and assistance is on top of financial and housing assistance and various skills training programs previously given to them by the company. “Even if we have already helped former Taliptip settlers build their new, better, and safer homes in areas of their choice, we have not left them. We are invested in their future, that is why we continue to monitor their progress and implement programs like this,” said SMC president Ramon S. Ang.

“Our community reseller program has been a success, especially this past year, as quarantine restrictions have necessitated new and innovative ways to  distribute products. With consumers looking for convenience and safety, we have been able to give additional livelihood to so many enterprising Filipinos nationwide who have joined this program. We hope to replicate that among our Taliptip beneficiaries,” he added.

Ang emphasized the importance of training the beneficiaries properly on managing a small business, as this will help increase their chances of success not just as community resellers but as entrepreneurs in their own right.

“We are confident that our graduates will succeed in their businesses. We made sure of that as our experienced business mentors provided them with key entrepreneurial skills that include preparing their business plan, knowledge about financial literacy, including bookkeeping and accounting, and marketing strategies,” he said.

“With their knowledge and skills now, and the experience they will gain, they can run and grow their business and provide for their families sustainably throughout this pandemic and beyond,” Ang added.

The pilot community store of Taliptip settlers was opened in January this year by former residents of Sitio Kinse, Taliptip, in Barangay Bambang, where their new housing community is built. Behind the success of this first community store are the families of former Sitio Kinse residents Teodoro Bacon, Rodel Alvarez, Primitivo Canceran, Roberto Bantigue, and Jose Roger Requinto.

Since then, the company said that some 180 relocatees have signified their interest to join the community reseller program.SMC plans to conduct training for two more batches of 50 individuals each by May, depending on existing local quarantine protocols.

“We continue to receive inquiries from our relocatees on when the next batch of entrepreneurship training will start. We want to accommodate them all at once so they can start their businesses sooner, but we have to adhere to existing quarantine regulations and health protocols so we can help prevent spread of Covid-19,” Ang said.

“We are always in touch with local government officials, including barangay officials, on the safest and most effective way to deliver entrepreneurship training and other community-based training courses to our relocatees,” he added.

The initial graduates of the entrepreneurship program were from the 277 families who received financial assistance from SMC and were able to build concrete houses or purchase house and lot units in other areas in Bulacan and neighboring provinces.Owners of non-concrete houses or shanties were given P250,000 each, while owners of concrete houses were given the appraised value of their homes, multiplied by two, plus P100,000.

“We are committed to providing them opportunities to help them break the cycle of poverty. So apart from housing, we have provided them skills training with the help of TESDA, community-based training programs through Barangay Taliptip, and now, training and capital under the community reselling program,” Ang said adding that “We constantly talk to our relocatees so we can devise livelihood programs, employment and job opportunities for them even as we prepare for the airport project, where we believe we can further unlock their potential to participate in, and contribute to, growth.”

CITY OF MALOLOS—It’s choose your own packs of nutritious meal menus, for lunch, dinner and merienda, cooked meals of the day and  market-type community pantries offered by Bulacan State University (BulSU), Bulakan town food groups and a village chairman in Hagonoy. 

BulSU launched on Monday its three day April 26-28 Bahay Kubo community pantry in front of its Main Gate along the MacArthur highway in this capital city of the province. 

The pantry provided 170 households in nearby barangays of Catmon and Mojon with thirteen choices of “gulay menus,” says Elizabeth Chua, Director of Extension Services Office of BulSU. 

On Tuesday, nearly 200 families from Barangay Santisima Trinidad and Sumapang Matanda were benefited. On the last day on Wednesday, folks from Barangay Dakila and Sta. Isabel were treated of free menu choices.

People who came to the pantry had their selection of Bahay Kubo veggies–“Bet na Bet na Pinakbet,” “Crispy Pipino Cum Kamatis,” “Sweet Saba and Camote,” “High Grade Rice,” “Monggo na Labo (lagkitan),” “Upo na po Kayo,” “Sweet Watermelon and Singkamas,” “Chinese Kangkong,” “Misua Patola Surprise”. 

It is what made BulSU Bahay Kubo pantry unique, Chua said referring to the vegetables in the Bahay Kubo including locally BulSU farm harvests sayote, repolyo and pechay, Chua added.

“All the vegetables in the bahay kubo are here except for kundol, bataw and patani, we have sigarilyas, sitaw, kalabasa, upo, patola, mani, etc”. 

Benjo Cruz, municipal tourism officer of Bulakan town who remain uninfected of COVID 19 while most in his family acquired the disease distributed cooked lunch, merienda and dinner to his constituents in Barangay Bambang on Saturday as his way of returning the good health he maintained.

Nineteen other food entrepreneurs joined and supported his cause as part of their ‘corporate social responsibility”. Cruz owns the Lugaw Republic stall chains.

Cruz told NEWS CORE, their food caravan was able to serve 3,000 residents from 500 households. 

They will hold a second food caravan on May 1, he said. 

Jhane Dela Druz, village chairman of Iba, Hagonoy and president of association of barangay captains (ABC) in the town also put up a community pantry on Saturday. The pantry was like a mini market, the biggest so far in Bulacan and had benefited all her constituents. 

Reynaldo Cervantes, barangay secretary of Iba in an interview with NEWS CORE on Monday said that milk fish, aligasin, tilapia highlighted the eggs, vegetables and rice given to the people. 

Everything is from the own pocket of the village chair.  

Tents with the name and face of Dela Cruz as chair of Barangay Iba and Hagonoy ABC president were used in the pantry prompting few groups of people to notice that it was of a politician’s. 

Community pantries are deemed to be a volunteer citizenry action of giving and sharing to provide foods on the tables of the poor and the needy without the involvement of politicians. 

However, because Hagonoy folks especially her constituents in Iba and other Bulakenyos have high regard to her as a good leader and a public servant, it has not really become an issue. 

ANGAT—Natapos na nitong Martes, Abril 27 sa bayang ito ang pamimigay ng P1,000 halaga na national government emergency assistance fund o “ayuda” na ibinaba sa National Capital Region (NCR) at Plus Bubble na mga lalawigan ng Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, Laguna na patuloy na may mga pagtaas ng kaso ng COVD 19.

Ganoonpaman, ay hindi naubos lahat ang P50,080,000 halagang tinanggap ng munisipalidad at mayroon itong natirang pondo na mabebenipisyuhan din ang ibang mga residente na hindi kabilang sa mga nabigyan.

Ayon sa tanggapan ng municipal social welfare and development office ng Bayan ng Angat, may mahigit 2,000 residente nila ang mabibigyan pa ng nasabing halaga ng ayuda kaya muli silang nagtakda ng mga araw ng pamimigay.

Subalit napag-alaman din ng NEWS CORE na dahil nadagdagan na ang populasyon ng Bayan ng Angat ay may mahigit pa ring 4,000 iba pang mga residente ang hindi rin nakatangaap mula sa P50,080,000.

Dahil dito, naghanap si Mayor Leonardo De Leon ng P7-Milyong pondo mula sa munisipyo para mabigyan din ang mahigit pang 4,000 residenteng ito.

Ang nasabing pondong ibinaba ng national government sa Bayan ng Angat katulad ng mga ibinaba rin sa NCR at Bubble Plus ay base sa 2015 national census kung saan ang populasyon lamang ng Angat noon ay 59,237.  Dahil sa ngayon ay halos anim na taon na ang nakalipas ay mahigit ng 60,000 ang populasyon ng bayang ito kung kaya’t kulang na nga ang nasabing pondo.

Sa kabila nito, ang sumobra sa pondong P50,080,000 na makakasapat pa sa mahigit 2,000 residente na makatanggap din ng P1,000 ay base sa naging sistema ng pamimigay na ibinaba ng Department of Budget and Management (DBM) at ng Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memorandum Circular na tig P1,000 halaga ang ibibigay kada isang kabahayan na may tatlong miyembro at P4,000 naman sa bawat pamilyang may apat na miyembro at higit pa.

Sa ipinalabas na Local Budget Circular No. 136 dated March 30 ni DBM Secretary Wendel Avisado ay nagbaba ito ng P2.9 Billion halaga ng pondo para sa 21 bayan at tatlong siyudad sa Bulacan at may mahigpit na tagubiling P1,000 kada isang miyembro ng pamilya na hindi lalagpas sa tatlo at P4,000 sa may apat na miyembro pataas.

Nauna rito ay naghain ng “Resolution 2021-024” ang ilang miyembro ng Sangguniang Bayan ng Angat at kinukuwestiyon dito ang listahan ng mga kuwalipikadong recipients ng nasabing P1,000 cash ayuda na isinasaad ng nasabing Joint Memorandum Circular na iniatas ng DBM sapagkat marami pa raw ibang mga mamamayan ang hindi makakatanggap o mabebenipisyuhan.

Base sa Joint Memorandum Circular, ang mga tatanggap ng 1K ayuda ay iyong  tumanggap ng Special Amelioration Program (SAP) noong isang taon, iyong mga wait-listed, ang iba pang vulnerable groups, mga maliliit ang kita, mga mag-isa sa buhay o those living alone, Persons With Disability (PWD) at iba pang mga indibidwal na apektado ng Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) subalit subject sa availability ng pondo ng lokal na pamahalaan.

Pinuri ni Mayor De Leon ang nasabing panukala sapagkat ito ay naaayon sa kanyang masidhing nais na mabigyan lahat ng kanyang nasasakupan at patunay nito ang kanyang pagpapalabas ng P7-Milyong halaga upang maipamahagi sa mga hindi nabigyan.  

Subalit mahigpit at mariing tinanggihan at tinutulan ng alkalde ang nais ng ilang lider sa bayang ito na hati-hatiin sa tig P2,500 ang P50,080,000 na pondo upang mapagkasya daw sa lahat ng mga mamamayan. Imbes daw na P1,000 kada isang tao sa isang pamilya na may 1-3 miyembro at P4,000 naman sa may 4-pataas na miyembro ay gawing pantay pantay na P2,500 para sa lahat ng pamilya o kabahayan upang magkaroon lahat.

Ganoon daw ang ginawa sa katabing bayan at gayahin daw ito ng kanilang alkalde.

Subalit tumanggi si Mayor De Leon na gawin ang malaking pagbali na iyon sa mahigpit na atas ng national government tungkol sa pamimigay na nasabing emergency fund o ayuda.   

“Hindi po natin maaaring gawin ang ganyang pamamaraan ng pagbibigay sapagkat tayo po ay may lalabaging kautusan at batas. Gagawa po tayo ng paraan base sa ating pondo upang mabigyan ang lahat ng hindi tayo lalabag sa batas,” paliwanag ng alkalde sa kanyang mga kababayan.

Ang buong NCR Plus Bubble ay isinailalim sa ECQ mula Marso 29-Abril 4. Simula Abril 5 hanggang sa kasalukuyan ay nasa ilalim naman ng Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ).  

Ang P2.9 Billion na ibinigay sa Bulacan at sa buong NCR Plus Bubble ay base sa programang Bayanihan to Recover as One Act sa ilalim ng Republic Act 11494 na may effectivity hanggang June 30, 2021 sa ilalim ng Republic Act 11519.

CITY OF MALOLOS—The Office of the President on Wednesday donated more than 3.2 million face masks to Bulacan on its a continued effort to help the province win the battle against COVID 19 as cases remain high with only a very slight decrease, latest record from the provincial health office said.

This is the second “Mask Para sa Masa” project in Bulacan during this second wave of COVID 19 infection.

Gov. Daniel Fernando received the 3,265,167 washable face masks at the Capitol Gym. The National Capital Region Plus Bubble areas–Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Bulacan continue to have mounting COVID-19 cases.

Fernando said the cases remain steady for the past weeks and neither that it went down nor high. But he encouraged each Bulakenyo to continue to be vigilant to stop the spread of the disease through discipline and strict compliance to minimum health protocol of donning of face mask and face shield, washing of hands and using alcohol and sanitizer, observing social distancing and no social gathering.

“We thank President Duterte on this. The regular and prompt use of face masks will lessen the community transmission. Taking care of ourselves is protection to the whole community. This is what we need,” he said.

He told reporters however that because of the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ), the cases are expected to drop in the coming days and weeks.

Cases for the whole month of April and last week of March were from 17, 643 on March 30; 19,930 on April 7; 22,054 on April 14; 24,100 on April 21 and 26,011 on Thursday. 

Active cases slightly went down from 3,247 on April 21-3,095 on April 29. From 3,183 on March 30, the active cases shoot up to 3,838 on April 7, slow down to 3,168 on April 14. 

Recoveries In that five straight weeks were from 13, 943-15,558-18,300-20,224-22,270. 

Deaths were from 517-534-586-629-646. 

The face masks are intended for the almost 3.3 million Bulacan residents but Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer Rowena  Tiongson-Joson said priority groups like poor families, vulnerable like the transport sector will receive five each per family. 

The boxes were received by Fernando and were immediately handed down to respective representatives of the 21 towns and cities.