250K Davao del N. beneficiaries get P913-M services, aid in Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair

SOME 250,000 Davao del Norte beneficiaries accessed over P913 million worth of government services, as well as cash, education, and livelihood assistance, in the largest ever Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) of the Marcos administration in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.

Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said a total of P913 million worth of programs and services were rolled out in the province, some P483 million of which were in cash assistance.

A record 167 members of the House of Representatives, including former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, attended the two-day BPSF held in Tagum City in Davao del Norte last June 7 until Saturday.

House Deputy Secretary General Sofonias Gabonada Jr., one of the leaders of the BPSF National Secretariat, said “the 250,000 beneficiaries will prove that the administration of President Marcos, with the strong support from Speaker Romualdez, the leader of the House of Representatives, has been doing everything to provide support for Filipinos.”

Gabonada said “BPSF, a flagship program of the Marcos administration, had already provided billions in financial aid, livelihood assistance, and government services in 19 provinces.”

“The BPSF in Davao del Norte is the 19th installment of the Service Caravan, which is envisioned to visit all 82 provinces in the Philippines. It is the 8th in the whole of Mindanao, together with Zamboanga City, Bukidnon, Agusan del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, Davao de Oro, and Tawi-Tawi,” Gabonada said, recalling that the Tawi-Tawi BPSF was attended by 95 House members.

Romualdez represented President Marcos Jr. during the BPSF in Davao del Norte, which opened at the Davao Del Norte Sports and Tourism Center.

On Thursday, Marcos personally extended close to P60 million in financial assistance under the Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk (PAFF) program to help Filipinos affected by the El Niño phenomenon in Davao Region.

In two separate PAFF distribution events, Marcos distributed P10 million each to the provinces of Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, and Davao Oriental in Tagum City, P19.52 million to Davao del Sur, and P10 million to Davao Occidental in Digos City.

 Marcos highlighted the government infrastructure projects designed to uplift the lives of residents in Davao as he recognized the huge developments in the region.

The amount of in-kind assistance to the beneficiaries of government programs in Davao del Norte has reached P429 million, including P30 million in health services, P392 million in agricultural services, P54 million in livelihood services, and P174 million in educational services.

Other province-wide activities include various scholarship programs of the Technical Education and Skills Development authority (Tesda) and the Commission for Higher Education (CHED), including livelihood assistance for various sectors of pre-identified beneficiaries across Davao del Norte.

The Department of Social Worker and Development (DSWD) conducted continuous payouts across the province of Davao Del Norte, reacheding 80,000 individual AICS and AKAP beneficiaries, amounting to P260 million.

Acting Davao Del Norte Governor De Carlo Uy and Tagum City Mayor Rey T. Uy served as the local co-hosts of the event. With 62 participating national government agencies, over 235 services were offered to more than 250,000 beneficiaries.

CARD program

A total of 19,000 residents of Davao del Norte received cash, rice, education, and livelihood assistance under four programs of the Marcos administration.

Coinciding with the two-day BPSF from Friday until Saturday in Davao del Norte were the launch of the Cash and Rice Distribution (CARD) Program, the Start-up, Incentives, Business Opportunity, and Livelihood (SIBOL) Program, the Integrated Scholarship and Incentives for the Youth (ISIP for the Youth) Program, and the Farmers Assistance for Recovery and Modernization (FARM) Program.

Romualdez said these have been a staple of the Service Caravan, which has visited a total of 19 provinces and cities since it started last year.

House Deputy Secretary General Gabonada said “the CARD is a revolutionary program that is an initiative of Speaker Romualdez to aid those in vulnerable sectors such as the poor, indigent senior citizens, PWDs, single parents, indigenous peoples, and others.”

Gabonada said 3,000 beneficiaries in Davao del Norte each received P3,000 through the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) Program, along with 10 kilograms of rice.

He said the SIBOL Program aims to encourage start-ups and serves as a dual solution for poverty alleviation and support during crises, providing individuals with sustainable opportunities.

In Davao del Norte, Gabonada said 3,000 beneficiaries received P5,000 and 5 kilograms of rice each, also through the DSWD’s AICS Program.

Gabonada said the ISIP for the Youth Program helps deserving students at the tertiary, technical, and vocational levels cope with mounting educational expenses.

Some 10,000 beneficiaries in Davao del Norte received P2,000 every six months and 5 kilograms of rice each to cover tuition and other expenses in a simple ceremony at the RDR Gym, Davao Del Norte Sports and Tourism Complex, Friday, Gabonada said.

Aside from the financial and rice assistance, the student beneficiaries will be enrolled under CHED’s Tulong Dunong Program (TDP), where students can get P15,000 in scholarship assistance per semester.

They will also get priority slots under the Government Internship Program (GIP) for employment after graduation, and their unemployed parents or guardians may also be enrolled in the DOLE-TUPAD Program.

The FARM Program is a collaboration among the National Food Authority (NFA), Department of Agriculture (DA), and DSWD to help hard-up small-time farmers. The program also aims to address NFA’s predicament in accomplishing its mandate to increase the buffer stock used during emergencies.

Some 3,000 farmers received P2,000 each in rites at the Carmen Municipal Gym, Davao del Norte on Friday, Gabonada said.

The beneficiaries of this program are encouraged to sell at least 100 kilos of rice to the NFA, Gabonada said.