Alfonso, Cavite Will Give 10 Lechon to Barangay With Least ECQ Violators

Nothing better than free lechon to motivate Caviteños.

In the Cavite municipality of Alfonso, Mayor Randy Salamat is encouraging his constituents to stay at home by offering up a reward of 10 lechon to the barangay with zero or the least number of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) violators.

Alfonso’s “Best in Lechon” contest will start on April 27 and end on May 15. According to Salamat, the 10 pieces of lechon will be donated by two Alfonso citizens, Ysrael Landico and Dodo Credo.

Cavite governor Jonvic Remulla has been tracking the daily number of ECQ violators in the province, creating a friendly competition between the municipalities to keep their residents safe at home. Alfonso is hardly the worst on the list, but free lechon definitely looks to be a good incentive to encourage would-be violators to stay inside.  

This isn’t the first time Salamat has used a fun contest to keep his constituents at home while providing comedic relief. Alfonso also came up with a recipe competition, offering up 10 kilos of fish fillet to the households that could come up with the best fish fillet recipe.

Alfonso’s Other Best Practices

While not as viral as the contests, Alfonso’s other best practices deserve just as much praise. The municipality just launched its “Org-Ani-ko: A Farm to Table Program,” which aims to provide a support system for farmers once quarantine is over. Thinking ahead, the farm project will support farmers with the harvest going to Alfonso’s most vulnerable constituents. 

“Naisip po kasi natin na pag lift po ng ECQ ay makakatulong po ito upang makabangon ang ating mga kababayan,” explained Salamat. Ang proyektong ito ay libreng aanihin na magiging pagkain nila sa kanilang hapag pagkatapos ng quarantine.”

The municipality also gave out whole chickens to Muslim residents just in time for the Islamic month of Ramadan. And yes, those chickens were alive, because that’s how Caviteños roll. Alfonso also gave out packaged (dead) chickens, and those were shipped in from France.

But it’s just not the mayor and his team chipping in. Alfonso residents are also doing their part, like The Sharing Table concept, a community market where residents can pick up free home-cooked meals, vegetables, and necessities, in exchange for donating what you can.

In these troubling times, we need more projects like those in Alfonso that can motivate people to stay at home and uplift everyone’s spirits.