House Speaker Martin Romualdez (center) leads the distribution under the SIBOL program. (Speaker’s office)

BISLIG CITY, Surigao del Sur--Over 6,000 residents here received rice and cash assistance Friday under three separate programs that sought to assist several segments of society, such as vulnerable sectors, students who need school aid, and struggling small entrepreneurs.  

House Speaker Martin Romualdez said these programs were the Cash and Rice Distribution (CARD); Start-up, Incentives, Business Opportunity and Livelihood (SIBOL); and the Integrated Scholarship and Incentives Program for the Youth (ISIP for the Youth). 

All three were side events of the two-day Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) here, which was launched on Friday, June 21. 

“Pag may BPSF sa isang lugar, tiyak na may distribution din sa ilalim ng CARD, SIBOL at ISIP. At atin itong hinihiwalay para masiguro na ating maabot ang ilang sektor ng lipunan na nahihirapan sa ating panahon ngayon,” said Romualdez, who led the distribution of aid or ayuda under all three programs. 

(If a location is hosting a BPSF, then there's sure to be distirnutions under CARD, SIBOL, and ISIP. We separate these to ensure that we reach certain sectors that are burdened by the times.) 

“Each of the sectors benefitting from these programs have their own unique challenges to face. Kaya naman nag-isip tayo ng mga programa na tatarget sa mga kababayan nating ito para sila ay matulungang umahon sa mga hamong hinaharap araw-araw,” he added. 

(We came up with programs to target these sectors and help them get by their daily struggles.) 

Romualdez--a major proponent of all the programs--says he is actively finding ways to help all of the sectors that need assistance. 

The Bislig BPSF was the 20th installment of the all-encompassing service caravan of the Marcos administration.

House Deputy Secretary General Sofonias “Ponyong” Gabonada Jr., one of the leaders of the BPSF National Secretariat, says the CARD program--which is aimed at helping those belonging to the vulnerable sectors such as senior citizens, PWDs, single parents, and Indigenous Peoples, among others--provides rice and cash aid to qualified beneficiaries. 

Gabonada said a total of 2,000 beneficiaries from the province received P2,000 each through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) during a simple ceremony held at Barangay Mangagoy Gymnasium. 

All of the recipients also receive free 10 kilograms of rice, he said. 

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For the SIBOL program, which aids struggling small entrepreneurs, a total of 2,000 qualified local beneficiaries received P5,000 in financial aid during a payout ceremony held at the Andres Soriano College here. 

Gabonada said all of the beneficiaries received free five kilos of rice each. 

As for the ISIP for the Youth, Gabonada said a total of 2,000 local tertiary education students each received a cash aid of P2,000 during simple ceremony undertaken in the Bislig City Cultural and Sports Center. They will receive the aid every six months. 

Aside from receiving cash aid and free five kilos of rice, the students will also be enrolled under the Commission of Higher Education’s (CHEd) Tulong Dunong Program where students can get scholarship assistance per semester amounting to a total of P15,000. 

They will also obtain priority slots under the Government Internship Program after graduation. Their unemployed parents or guardians may also be enrolled in the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged at Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program, Gabonada said.