House Speaker Martin Romualdez (center) meeting beneficiaries during the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair in Zamboanga City (Speaker's Office)

The Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF)---the flagship public service program of the Marcos administration—launched on Friday, May 10, for a two-day event in Zamboanga City.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez, one of the main proponents of the BPSF, took charge of the roll-out of a total of P580 million worth of government service and financial assistance to about 110,000 beneficiaries.

“Ito ang pagsasabuhay ng mga hangarin ni Pangulong Marcos Jr. para sa mamamayang Pilipino, ang makakuha ng direktang serbisyo dahil ang pamahalaan ang pupunta sa kanila,” Romualdez said in a speech. 

(This is the implementation of the desire of President Marcos Jr. for the Filipino people to get direct services because the government itself will go to them.)

The BPSF in Zamboanga City marks the first such event in Region IX and the 16th installment of the administration’s program that brings together 417 government services from 47 agencies under one roof, including cash aid payouts.

“This is the very essence of inclusive development and responsive governance,” said Romualdez.

Coinciding with the BPSF is the launch of the Start-up, Incentives, Business Opportunity and Livelihood (SIBOL) Program and the Integrated Scholarship and Incentives for the Youth (ISIP) Program. Both programs are initiatives of the House leader.

A total of 3,000 SIBOL beneficiaries received P5,000 each from the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) Program, along with five kilograms of rice. For the ISIP for the Youth, a total of 3,000 students were identified as beneficiaries and will be given P2,000 each in financial assistance every six months to cover tuition and other expenses. 

True to his moniker of “Mr. Rice”, the Speaker also led the distribution of cash and rice assistance to a total of 10,000 beneficiaries under the Cash Assistance and Rice Distribution (CARD) program.

“Alam po ng inyong mga kinatawan ang pinagdadaanan ng marami. Dama din po namin sa Kamara de Representante ang mabilis na pagtaas ng presyo ng mga pangunahing bilihin, kasama dito ang bigas,” Romualdez, leader of the 300-plus strong House of Representatives, said.

(Your representatives know what many are going through. We also felt in the House of Representatives the rapid increase in the price of basic commodities, including rice.)

“Kaya nga’t binuo ng tanggapan ng inyong lingkod ang programang CARD. Tinutugunan ng programang ito ang pangangailangan na masiguro na ang mas nakararaming Pilipino ay palaging may bigas na maisasaing, mapigilan ang hoarding at ng sa gayon ay mapabagal ang pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin,” he added.

(That is why my office created the CARD program. This program addresses the need to ensure that more Filipinos always have rice to eat, prevent hoarding and thereby slow down the increase in the price of the commodity.)

Each of the 10,000 beneficiaries in Zamboanga City received P2,000 through the AICS program and 1,000 pesos worth of premium rice. 

The beneficiaries came from marginalized and vulnerable sectors such as the poor, senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs,) single parents, and indigenous peoples (IPs), among others.

Within a few weeks, the service caravan will visit Tawi-Tawi and Davao del Norte. This would bring the total number of visited provinces in Mindanao to seven.