Solons court Duterte bailiwick with doleouts

Solons court Duterte bailiwick with doleouts | Daily Tribune

Nearly P1 billion worth of various assistance has been handed out to thousands of Davaoeños to what they deemed the biggest Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) so far.

Approximately 250,000 residents received over P913 million worth of aid, including cash, rice, education, and livelihood, in Tagum City in Davao del Norte on Friday, during the first day of the two-day service caravan.

At least 167 House members, including Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, flew to Tagum City, the bailiwick of the Dutertes, to join Speaker Martin Romualdez in spearheading the event on behalf of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“This is the largest Service Caravan in terms of the number of beneficiaries helped. Almost 220,000 people have been served and given financial assistance,” Romualdez said.

The BPSF, launched in September last year, is the country’s biggest service caravan that aims to provide poverty-stricken Filipinos in various communities nationwide with numerous services.

That includes Cash and Rice Distributions, Start-up, Investment, Business Opportunity and Livelihood, the Farmers Assistance for Recovery and Modernization, and Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

At least 300,000 kilograms of rice were given to the beneficiaries of the BPSF in Tugum City, with P483 million were cash assistance.

“We also made history because we have reached over two million beneficiaries in our BPSF. More than two million Filipinos are benefiting from the direct benefits of the Service Caravan to the people,” Romualdez said.

Over 60 national government agencies took part in the event to provide their respective assistance.

The DSWD conducted continuous payouts across the province of Davao del Norte, which reached a total of 80,000 individual Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation and AKAP beneficiaries amounting to P260 million.

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

Also, the amount of in-kind assistance to the government program beneficiaries in Davao del Norte has reached P429 million, including P30 million in health services.