Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez delivers his message during the opening of Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) at the Benguet State University Gymnasium in La Trinidad, Benguet Sunday morning. Benguet Gov. Melchor Diclas and Lone District Rep. Eric Go Yap, who hosted the event, are joined by 62 other District and party-list House members led by Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales Jr., Deputy Speaker David “Jayjay” Suarez, Majority Leader Manuel Jose”Mannix” Dalipe and other government officials. (Photo courtesy of Romualdez’s office)
MANILA, Philippines — Around 80,000 beneficiaries in Benguet province received P412 million in cash and aid through the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) from April 21 to 22, according to House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Romualdez said on Sunday that a total of 70 national government agencies participated in delivering 326 services, including P261 million in financial aid to the locals in Benguet.
(Photo courtesy of Romualdez’s office)
“All in all, the BPSF distributed a total of P261 million in cash aid and P151 million in in-kind assistance in Benguet, which includes P110 million in social services, P10 million in health services, P50 million in agricultural services, P180 million in livelihood services, P35 million in educational assistance, P25 million in other government services and P1 million in regulatory services,” Romualdez’s statement disclosed.
The BPSF conducted in Benguet is the first in the Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) Region and is the 15th installment of the service caravan, which aims to bring the fair 82 provinces across the country. It was attended by 63 members of the lower chamber.
Under the BPSF, around 50,000 Benguet residents also received P100 million in financial aid through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Moreover, 160,000 kilograms of rice were also given to selected beneficiaries.
READ: Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair launched, aims to serve 400,000 Filipinos
Coinciding with the BPSF in Benguet, a separate set of 8,000 beneficiaries also received P25 million in case and rice aid from the educational and livelihood assistance under Romualdez’s initiatives.
These programs include the Cash and Rice Distribution (CARD) Program, the Integrated Scholarships and Incentives Program (ISIP) for the Youth, and the Start-up, Investment, Business Opportunity and Livelihood (SIBOL).
“For the CARD Program, a total of 75,000 kilograms of rice was distributed to 3,000 beneficiaries in Benguet belonging to the most vulnerable sectors including the poor, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, single parents, and family breadwinners, among others,” the statement said.
It added that the same program granted P2,000 to each of the 3,000 beneficiaries through the DSWD’s AICS program and 25 kilograms of premium rice.
Meanwhile, through ISIP, 2,000 beneficiaries will receive P2,000 in financial aid every six months through the DSWD AICS program for tuition and other expenses, among others.
Similarly, SIBOL — an initiative to encourage locals to start their businesses — has granted P15 million worth of financial assistance under the DSWD AICS program, benefiting 3,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) business owners.