Agusan del Norte residents get assistance
AROUND 80,000 residents in Agusan del Norte have received cash aid and services worth P300 million through the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair and related programs initiated by the office of Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
In his speech on Friday at the Caraga State University in Butuan City, Romualdez said that distance is not a hindrance for the government to reach its citizens.
“Malayo man po ang Butuan City o ang Agusan del Norte sa Maynila, malapit naman po sa isip at puso ng ating mga pinuno ang inyong kalagayan at kapakanan (While Butuan City or Agusan del Norte is far from Manila, your situation is closer to the hearts and minds of our leaders),” said Romualdez.
A total of 53 national and local government agencies participated in the Service Fair, which offered over 293 services during the twoday event, of which, P122 million are in the form of cash assistance.
This included the payout of some 32,000 individuals from 10 municipalities and one city of Agusan del Norte through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
An all-women payout was also held in commemoration of Women’s month, led by Tingog Partylist Rep. Yedda Marie Mendoza-Romualdez, with 3,000 beneficiaries of Cabadbaran and 1,000 beneficiaries from Remedios Romualdez town were given assistance.
Scholarship programs of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Commission on Higher Education were also offered, as well as livelihood assistance for various sectors in pre-identified eligible beneficiaries.
Aside from the BPSF, some 3,000 individuals in vulnerable sectors such as the poor, senior citizens, persons with disability (PWDs), single parents and Indigenous peoples received P3,000 in cash and rice assistance under the Cash and Rice Distribution program at the Provincial Capitol Gym in Butuan City.
These individuals will receive P1,000 for a 25-kilogram sack of rice and P2,000 in cash under the AICS program of the DSWD.
Aside from these, 7,000 farmers, students and small entrepreneurs were also given aid under the different programs for their sector, also through the DSWD-AICS program.
Two thousand farmers received P2,000 under the Farmers Assistance for Recovery and Modernization program, while 3,000 youth beneficiaries will receive P2,000 per month for the next six months under the Integrated Scholarships and Incentives Program for the
Youth program.
Two thousand small business owners have also received P5,000 worth of financial assistance under the Start-up, Investment, Business Opportunity and Livelihood program.
The fair was hosted by Agusan del Norte Rep. Jose “Joboy” Aquino 2nd, with more than 60 lawmakers, led by Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr. and Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe gracing the event.
“This is the biggest display of unity and solidarity in BPSF next to the Sultan Kudarat service caravan, where almost 50 members of the House of Representatives, mostly from Mindanao, attended. We feel the unity of all lawmakers in the BPSF program of President [Ferdinand] Marcos [Jr.],” Gonzales said.