LAOAG CITY—In the spirit of Christmas and gift giving, workers at the provincial capitol will again spearhead a weeklong Christmas caravan to benefit less fortunate families in the province.
From December 15 to 20, some provincial government officials and employees will be going around the province to distribute Noche Buena packages, food packs, educational toys and even farm inputs to selected beneficiaries.
Kiddie parties at the village halls will also be organized to let young boys and girls have fun while the gifts are being distributed.
The annual Christmas caravan has become a tradition for capitol personnel, as a way of giving back during the yuletide season.
Covering the 21 towns and two cities of the province, beneficiaries were identified by the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office.
Included in the list are the so-called Millennium Development Goals (MDG) families.
The MDG master list of the province is apart from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the national government.
Most of the selected caravan beneficiaries come from the highly vulnerable areas of the province, who were badly hit by typhoons and other natural calamities.
Edwin Cariño, head of the Sustainable Development Center of the Ilocos Norte government, said this year’s gift-giving program is “need-based,” meaning various commodity items will be given to different groups of individuals.
“MDG families will be given medicines and grocery items, while our indigent families will be given food packs. Some day-care pupils will receive educational toys, and senior citizens who are celebrating their birthdays in December will be treated with birthday cakes, food packs and the traditional singing of Ilocano birthday songs,” Cariño said.
Meanwhile, selected farmer-beneficiaries hard-hit by previous typhoons will receive corn seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, farm machinery, sprayers and calcium nitrate for their plants.
Also, the Ilocos Norte provincial government is again hiring tourism ambassadors, including senior citizens, in preparation for the expected influx of tourists this Christmas season.
Ilocos Norte Provincial Tourism Officer Aianree Raquel said on December 8 that there were more than 200 slots available for tourism ambassadors, who will serve as tourist aides and story tellers in various museums, churches and other major destinations in the province.
Of the more than 200 slots, at least 22 senior citizens interested to avail themselves of the special employment for senior citizens are encouraged to apply. Their main job is to become storytellers in museums and heritage structures being frequented by tourists.
“We are again accepting applicants and the basic qualification is they should be at least 18 years old and show interest in tourism work,” Raquel said.
Regardless of age or status, Raquel said anybody is welcome to apply for the tourism job.
Under the tourism employment program of the Ilocos Norte government, Raquel said Gov. Ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee” Marcos has initiated the employment of retirees and senior citizens to help promote “culture tourism” in the province.
The governor said elders have rich knowledge and experience in history, which they can share with the younger generation.
For six years now, the Ilocos Norte government has been employing out-of-school youth, students and senior citizens during long holiday breaks. These new tourism ambassadors are to be deployed starting December 14.