135,000 Tawi-tawi beneficiaries receive P699-M BPSF aid

MANILA, Philippines — Some P699 million worth of government services and assistance were delivered and extended to 135,000 beneficiaries in Tawi-Tawi province, House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said on Thursday.

Romualdez, in a statement said that the services and the programs were brought through the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF), which will be held from on Thursday through Friday at the DepEd Culture and Sports Complex in Bongao town.

“Natutuwa kami at naabot ng pamahalaan ni Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. ang lalawigan ng Tawi-Tawi dito sa BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao). Wala pong mahirap puntahan kung tayo ay nagkakaisa, maging Mindanao man ito o isla sa BARMM,” Romualdez said.

(We are happy that the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has reached Tawi-Tawi here in BARMM.  Nothing is hard to reach if we are united, whether this is in Mindanao or an island in BARMM.)

“Mahal po ng ating Pangulo ang Mindanao, kaya naman sunod-sunod ang pagpunta ng BPSF dito. Pang-pito na ito sa mga lugar na napuntahan natin sa Mindanao, at meron pa tayong nakalinya sa Davao del Norte sa mga susunod na araw,” he added.

(Our President loves Mindanao, that’s why the BPSFs have been held here.  This is the seventh area in Mindanao that we have reached since through BPSF, and there are other areas lined up in the next few days.)

Romualdez said that over 40 national government agencies have started to deliver 199 services to the 135,000 beneficiaries, where P319 million of the P699 million aid will be in the form of cash assistance.

This includes payouts to 100,000 residents through the Department of Social Welfare and Development – Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (DSWD-AICS) program.

According to Romualdez, the Start-up, Incentives, Business Opportunity and Livelihood (SIBOL) program and the Integrated Scholarship and Incentives for the Youth (ISIP for the Youth) Program will be launched on Friday.

The SIBOL Program is aimed at encouraging start-up businesses to become a two-pronged solution to poverty incidence, by providing individuals with sustainable opportunities that contribute to economic growth and resilience in the community.

ISIP for the Youth — where deserving students facing financial challenges are assisted so that they can pursue quality education — will also be kickstarted in Tawi-Tawi on Friday.

Both programs are initiatives of Speaker Romualdez.

Meanwhile, another 5,000 beneficiaries in Tawi-Tawi will receive P3,000 and seven kilograms of rice each, under the AICS program.

 There would also be 8,300 students in Tawi-Tawi who will receive financial aid of up to P2,000 every six months through the DSWD’s AICS, to cover tuition and other expenses.  All of the students will also receive seven kilograms of rice.

Aside from these, the student beneficiaries would also be enrolled under the Tulong Dunong Program (TDP) of the Commission on Higher Education, where students can get a cash aid worth P15,000.

According to Romualdez, this is the 18th BPSF ever, and the seventh that was held in Mindanao. 

More provinces will be visited by the President’s delegation as they aim to stop by all of the 82 provinces nationwide.

 Tawi-Tawi’s BPSF was hosted by Governor Yshmael I. Sali and Rep. Dimszar Sali.