The TUPAD aid distribution in the the municipality of Alangalang, Leyte (Speaker’s Office)

By DEXTER BARRO II

The office of the House Speaker Martin Romualdez continued on Monday, July 15, its distribution of financial assistance to indigent residents of Leyte, marking the second week of the aid caravan in the province.

In line with the “Bagong Pilipinas” (New Philippines) initiative of bringing government services to people in need, the caravan has so far rolled out P64.84 million worth of assistance.

“As President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said, no one should be left behind in our Bagong Pilipinas. In line with this principle, we have launched this aid caravan to deliver available assistance to disadvantaged residents of the province,” Romualdez said in a statement.

“We are aware that many of them don’t have the means to travel to the concerned government agencies in urban centers so we adopted the principle of Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF),” he added.

The BPSF is the public service caravan of the Marcos administration that brings together government services and financial assistance to disadvantaged Filipinos across the country.

On Monday morning, 938 beneficiaries from Barangay 96 Calanipawan in Tacloban City received P6,000 cash each under the Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita (AKAP) program.

A simultaneous roll-out of benefits at the municipality of Alangalang saw about 2,000 qualified residents receive P4,050 each as part of the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

The payment to these residents came after 10 days of work as part of  TUPAD’s program of providing temporary employment to displaced workers.

Romualdez was represented by his District Chief of Staff, lawyer Mark Reyes during the TUPAD aid roll-out. Reyes was assisted by DOLE North Leyte Field Office head Engineer Emmanuel Dela Cruz and other local officials.

“Nagpapasalamat po tayo sa mga ahensya tulad ng Deparment of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) at DOLE sa kanilang tulong sa Office of the Speaker para patuloy nating mabigyan ng karampatang tulong ang mga nangangailangan ng ayuda,” said Reyes.

(We thank agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development and DOLE for their assistance to the Office of the Speaker so that we can continue to provide adequate assistance to those in need.)

The Leyte aid caravan kicked off on July 9 at the People’s Center in Tacloban City and the town of Babatngon.

The caravan is set to continue its delivery of aid packages to qualified residents of Leyte up to July 19.