President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday launched the Bawat Bayan Makikinabang Program at the Tarlac City Civic Center, a new initiative aimed at accelerating national government assistance to local government units (LGUs).

The launch came days after the President's fifth State of the Nation Address and highlighted the administration's push to strengthen local development through direct financial support.

As of June 2026, the national government has disbursed P22.22 billion to 266 LGUs under the program.

Support for barangays is being expanded through the Socio-Civic Projects Fund (SCPF) of the Office of the President. Under the initiative, each barangay will receive P100,000 for development and public safety projects and another P100,000 to fund five Presidential Scholars.

As of 2 July 2026, the government had released P4.69 billion to 23,431 barangays, with distribution to the remaining barangays ongoing.

During the event, Marcos met with Presidential Scholars from Tarlac and witnessed the distribution of rice under the Local Government Support Fund.

He also led the turnover of an SCPF financial assistance check worth P102.2 million for 511 barangays in Tarlac.

The program earlier benefited 1,739 residents through a free rice distribution at the Bamban Municipal Grounds on 29 July under the PBBM Rice Program, which aims to strengthen food security.

The Philippine Information Agency-Tarlac also assisted in distributing free rice to 3,000 Tarlaqueños, prioritizing senior citizens, single parents, and transport sector drivers to help ease the impact of rising commodity prices.