BPSF in Davao runs smoothly; no politics in giving aid – Rep. Nograles

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) here on Thursday did not encounter any problem despite the ongoing political climate between the Dutertes and the Marcos administration allies, PBA party-list Rep. Margarita Nograles said.

Nograles, in an interview after the last BPSF program, said that there should be no politics when the activity is all about providing social aid to the people.

According to the lawmaker, the local government was very cooperative in implementing the BPSF, where services from national government agencies and cash grants were delivered to the city.

“Well, pagdating sa serbisyo, pagdating sa ayuda, walang pulitika dapat.  And nakita naman natin, smooth-sailing, kayo naman hindi nahirapan dapat, and we thank the local government for being very participative dito sa ating programa na sa buong Pilipinas naman, so maraming, maraming salamat sa local government po natin,” Nograles told reporters.

(Well, in terms of service and provision of aid, there should be no politics.  And we saw that it has been smooth sailing. You also did not experience any hardship, and we thank the local government for being very participative in our program which is for the entire Philippines, so many thanks to our local government.)

When asked if they found it hard to facilitate the program, Nograles said she had not heard of any problem brought by the local government.

“Hindi naman actually, dito, it’s an ongoing thing. This started actually September 3, and then it will end September 7, para talagang makuha natin ‘yong 250,000 beneficiaries, mas marami nga sanang matulungan natin kasi maraming naghihingi rin ng tulong. So hopefully mapatuloy natin with the support of the administration,” Nograles said.

(Not actually, because the program is an ongoing thing. This started actually on September 3, and then it will end on September 7, so that we can achieve the target number of 250,000 beneficiaries. Hopefully, we can help more people because a lot of residents are asking for help, so we can continue with the support of the administration.)

“Parang wala naman akong narinig na problema. Like I said, maraming salamat they participated in this, and they gave a chance na talagang magawa ‘to kasi kailangan talaga ‘to ng mga tao, ayuda ‘to, tulong ‘to sa sambayanan,” she added.

(It seems I have not heard of any problem. Like I said, thank you very much to everyone who participated in this, and they gave us a chance to conduct this because the people really need aid; this is assistance for the public.)

Nograles has been supportive of the Marcos administration, oftentimes criticizing the Dutertes, who have ruled over Davao for decades.  Currently, former President Rodrigo Duterte’s son, Sebastian Duterte, is the Davao City mayor.

Mayor Duterte’s brother, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, has engaged in a word war with Nograles several times over different issues.  Last February 8, Rep. Duterte said he received reports that Nograles was behind the People’s Initiative movement in Davao City — an issue that Nograles denied.

Then in July, Rep. Duterte and Nograles engaged in another word war: Rep. Duterte accused the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) of not releasing funds needed for his district, but Nograles countered this by saying that funds were available for her party-list’s barangay caravans.

READ: Pulong Duterte, Migs Nograles face off over DSWD funds

The Nograleses and the Dutertes have been bitter rivals in the Davao local political scene. While the Dutertes have maintained their grip in the local elective positions, Margarita Nograles’ relatives dominated the congressional seats — her father is former Speaker Prospero Nograles, and her brother is former Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles.

The 2016 elections saw the two families setting politics aside, with the older Nograles saying that he would support Rodrigo Duterte, who eventually won as president.

Karlo was also a key fixture in the Duterte Cabinet, having served as Cabinet secretary, presidential spokesperson, chairperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases which tackled the COVID-19 response, and eventually, as Civil Service Commission head.

Karlo was also one of the first to rally support behind Duterte’s election bid when the then-Davao mayor was undecided about running for the country’s highest position.