The Makati City government announced Tuesday it had started distributing Christmas gift bags to 80,931 senior citizens in the city.
Mayor Abigail Binay said elderly residents were being prioritized to get their gift bags ahead of the rest of city residents for their safety and convenience.
“We are conducting the exclusive distribution of Christmas packs for senior citizens to reduce their risk of exposure to COVID-19. We are also sparing them a trip to City Hall since the gift bags are made available in their own barangay halls,” said Binay.
“Our annual Pamaskong Handog program aims to bring a message of hope and to rekindle the joy of giving among us this Yuletide Season. At the same time, it serves as a reminder that we still have so much to be grateful for despite the hardships brought about by the pandemic,” she added.
The city chief executive explained that because of the outbreak, Makati had advanced the schedule of distribution to maintain social distancing and other safety protocols.
The bags are being delivered daily to the different barangays so that residents need not go to City Hall.
Each Christmas gift bag contains two Makatizen shirts, three cans of tuna flakes in oil, three cans of tuna flakes caldereta, three cans of corned beef, one can of luncheon meat, two cans of Vienna sausage, one pack of spaghetti sauce, one pack of pasta, one can of fruit cocktail, one can of condensed milk, one box of cheese, and one can of all-purpose cream.
Since the start of pandemic last March, the local government has been implementing strategic policies and programs to keep its resident safe from the virus.
Through City Ordinance 2020-089, the city has made it mandatory for residents, workers, and visitors to wear protective gear such as face masks anywhere outside their homes to prevent the spread of the infection.
The city government also provided free flu and pneumonia vaccines to senior citizens and other residents who registered online to boost their immune system.
Aside from frontliners, suspect and probable COVID-19 cases have also been tested for free under the city’s targeted mass testing program.