By Nel Andrade

CAINTA, Rizal – After harrowing past weeks wherein three residents died of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19, this municipality is emerging from that trauma buoyed by the overwhelming show of kindness of private individuals and small business owners who have virtually turned the municipal building into a warehouse of relief goods.

According to Mayor Johnielle Keith Nieto, municipal hall employees and volunteers have almost had no rest repacking food items that are being distributed to the town’s residents.

“I am overwhelmed at the unexpected generosity of people I hardly know who took effort to help our town in this global crisis,” the mayor said.



Every day, Nieto would post pictures of the donations that include thousands of pouches of powdered milk, bottled water, hundreds of kilos of rice, plastic bags of fresh vegetables, ready to eat meals, and even bicycles, among others.

In an earlier post, Nieto even showed some members of the town’s medical team on bicycles, distributing vitamins to elderly residents in communities here.

Inspired by what Nieto posted on his Facebook page, a bicycle shop owner then donated 10 bicycles to the municipal government which they plan to utilize to improve their mobility during the health crisis.



A private group has also donated 16 wooden boxes full of fresh eggs, which according to Nieto, will be partnered with rice and canned goods given by other donors.



Five thousand kilos of rice were donated by Nieto’s younger brother Ric Nieto, and these are now being repacked and will eventually be distributed to residents, according to the mayor.



Some 200 kilos of pork meat were cooked as adobo by volunteers, and partnered with steamed rice were among the ready-to-eat meals distributed to communities during the daily 5 p.m. food distribution of the municipal government.



Indeed, the show of camaraderie and brotherly love has inspired this city to forge on even as it continues to care for 72 persons under investigation (PUIs) and 145 persons under monitoring (PUMs).

