A businesswoman played Santa Claus for hundreds of poor families and children in Manila, giving away Christmas gifts, cash, and grocery items to indigent families this holiday season.
Philanthropist Virginia Rodriguez spearheaded the gift-giving event in San Nicolas, Binondo, Manila to the indigent in a bid to spread the Yuletide spirit this time of the year.
Rodriguez was assisted by Fr. Douglas Badong of the Nuestra Senora de la Soledad de Manila Parish, in handing out the presents to some 500 families who received cash aids worth P5,000 each, along with grocery items and toys for the kids.
Rodriguez is the author of the book “Leave Nobody Hungry” that recommends innovative technologies and organic farming methods to fight hunger in the country.
According to Rodriguez, she wanted to help the Marcos administration to make the price of rice affordable for poor Filipino peoples, so she decided to write and publish the said book.
Rodriguez, who is also the leader of the newly organized group, called Agri Kaagapay, expressed confidence that her book would help millions of farmers in the country increase their harvests, notably rice, corn and cash crops.
“We organized this event so that every Filipino can experience the Christmas spirit, and that they can look forward to a brighter future,” Rodriguez said.Rodriguez said her organization’s top priority is to support the most neglected agriculture and fisheries sectors, which left Filipino farmers and fishermen among the poorest.
“Despite being a resource-rich country with an abundance of land and water resources, the country remains poor, and food security continues to threaten the population,” Rodriguez said.
“Aside from providing education to poor but deserving children, we will also provide health care assistance,” she added.
She said farmers are the most neglected sector that the government should be prioritizing, and any policy or law that it should be enacting should bear meaningful and impactful changes to improve their lives.