A total of 8,700 barangays have received P200,000 each in cash assistance since the rollout of the “Bawat Bayan Makikinabang” initiative, Malacañang announced Monday.
Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said during a briefing that the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. plans to expand the project to other parts of the country.
Castro said Marcos assured the public that the government remains responsive to the needs of Filipinos through nationwide assistance programs.
“The government does not sleep, it does not take a vacation... instead it listens and takes action,” Castro said, echoing the president’s message to beneficiaries.
Since launching the initiative 23 February, Marcos has visited several areas, including Eastern Visayas, Cagayan province, and the Metro Manila cities of Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Parañaque, Pasay, Makati and Manila.
During a program in Makati on Monday morning, Marcos met with 23 Bagong Pilipinas barangay scholars and distributed financial assistance of P20,000 to each.
He stressed the importance of education and the opportunities provided through the government’s Socio-Civic Projects Fund Program.
The President also led the distribution of 10 kilograms of rice to beneficiaries under the expanded Local Government Support Fund program, which aims to accelerate community assistance.
On Monday afternoon, Marcos spearheaded another program event in Mandaluyong, where additional aid was distributed to residents.
Meantime, Makati Mayor Nancy Binay thanked Marcos for bringing the program to the city, where 13,571 families and 115 presidential scholars began receiving direct aid.
Under the initiative, each beneficiary household will receive 10 kilograms of rice four times over the course of the program, with distributions scheduled every two months. The beneficiaries are largely working-class families, senior citizens, and middle-income households.
“Knowing that they will have rice on their table, that their children will have support to stay in school, that their barangays will have what they need — that is what good governance looks like when it reaches the people who need it most,” Binay said.
The assistance extends beyond food. Each participating barangay receives P200,000 from the national government, divided equally between educational support for five presidential scholars and community development items identified by the village as a priority.