MANILA, Philippines — Various services of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the vulnerable and underprivileged Manila residents were made available during the “Bagong Pilipinas” campaign at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park last Sunday.
In a statement on Monday, DSWD said locals from Manila City’s six congressional districts benefited from the event.
“This is DSWD’s way of bringing prompt government service closer to the people, which is in keeping with the objectives of the Bagong Pilipinas campaign,” said DSWD spokesperson Romel Lopez.
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According to the agency, the initiative was part of the “Serbisyo Fair,” which was accessible to eligible beneficiaries present during the kick-off rally.
“The DSWD-National Capital Region Field Office distributed cash aid amounting to P2,000 each to some 15,000 eligible beneficiaries under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program, the official said.
“To ensure that the beneficiaries who received assistance were qualified, they were cross-matched with the existing DSWD database and underwent a deduplication process. After the cross-matching, the identified beneficiaries were assessed by personnel of the DSWD-NCR to further determine if they are qualified to receive the cash assistance,” he added.
Food packs were likewise disbursed to 5,000 beneficiaries affected by fire incidents within the National Capital Region, while a mobile kitchen was also installed to serve porridge to attendees.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos were present during the event, along with Sens. Jinggoy Estrada, Lito Lapid, and Ramon Revilla Jr.; House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, House Senior Deputy Majority Leader Sandro Marcos, and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Executive Secretary Luke Bersamin, Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil.
Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte also appeared hours before Marcos, but she left to join the prayer rally held in Davao City.