5,000 Sulu farmers, fishermen get cash aid

Five thousand farmers and fishermen in Sulu have received P10,000 each from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as part of the government’s vision of “Bagong Pilipinas.”

The distribution was held at the Sulu provincial gymnasium in Patikul on Friday.

In addition to the direct assistance, Marcos also allocated P10 million in financial aid to the provincial government.

Marcos was accompanied by Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian and several other Cabinet officials.

"I am pleased to be here today, alongside those who endure the intense heat of the sun for a bountiful harvest and those who brave the seas for a good catch. We are here to deliver government aid, to support your recovery from the challenges brought by El Niño, and to listen to your concerns," Marcos said in his address.

The cash distribution was made through the DSWD’s Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP).

AKAP is part of the DSWD's social protection efforts, specifically designed to assist individuals who may not typically have access to regular forms of aid due to their economic circumstances.

Aligned with the President’s directive of a comprehensive government approach to national challenges, the Office of House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao also contributed additional forms of support to identified beneficiaries.

Among the other high-ranking officials present at the distribution event in Sulu province were Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., and Special Assistant to the President Secretary Antonio Ernesto Lagdameo Jr.