President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has ordered the distribution of an P8-billion assistance package to the country’s 42,000 barangays to strengthen the grassroots response to the economic impact of the ongoing Middle East crisis, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said Thursday.

Dubbed the “Bawat Barangay Makikinabang” grant, the program quietly began its rollout on 24 March, providing each barangay with P200,000 to fund priority educational, social, and economic initiatives.

The first tranche has reached 5,000 barangays, including in Pilar, Bataan, where the President attended a distribution ceremony.

Under the program guidelines, half of the allocation, or P100,000, may be used for projects identified in a preset menu.

These include the installation of streetlights, procurement of patrol vehicles, and closed-circuit television systems to boost community safety, as well as to acquire power generators for health and evacuation centers during emergencies.

“Support will be given directly to barangays. The President ordered that they be strengthened because these frontliners are closest to the people,” acting Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said.

The remaining P100,000 will fund a “finisher program” designed to assist college seniors in completing their studies despite financial pressures.

The initiative seeks to support up to 200,000 graduating students who may otherwise be forced to drop out due to economic disruptions linked to the Middle East situation.

To ensure efficient fund distribution and monitoring, the Office of the President has partnered with the Liga ng mga Barangay.

Recto said the government aims to complete the fund distribution before June, with the full utilization of the grants expected by year’s end.