183 House members troop to Davao City to witness BPSF in action

If sessions were held in Davao City last September the House of Representatives would have more than a quorum.

To witness the flow of government services and financial assistance at the grassroots level, a total of 183 lawmakers joined the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) in Davao City Thursday marking yet another successful service caravan in terms of the attendance of government officials.

The House of Representatives contingent to the Davao City BPSF is led by Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, with Tinggog Reps. Yedda K. Romualdez and Jude A. Acidre, DUMPER PTDA Rep. Claudine Diana D. Bautista-Lim, PBA Rep. Margarita “Migs” Nograles, and MARINO Rep. Sandro L. Gonzalez taking point as co-organizers of the event.

“Ating ikinagagalak ang patuloy na pagtangkilik ng mga mambabatas sa ating BPSF. This is especially timely since we are now in the budget season and every House member here sees the importance of allocating funds for government services and financial assistance programs,” Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said.

“Ngayon, hindi na tayo mahihirapang kumbinsihin ang ating mga kasama sa Kongreso kasi nakikita naman nila ng personal kung paanong nakakatulong sa ating mga kababayan ang bawat pisong inilalaan natin sa ating social amelioration programs tulad ng AICS, AKAP, TUPAD at iba pa,” the leader of the 300-plus-strong House of Representatives added.

Davao City is the 23rd stop of the BPSF, and the service caravan was locally spearheaded by Sec. Leo Tereso Magno, the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chief.

So far, in the one-year history of the BPSF, the one in Tacloban was by far the largest in terms of the attendance of House members, as it reached a total of 242 representatives, 12 governors, three vice governors, nine mayors, and 16 officials from the Executive Department.

Among the House leaders present are Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales and Deputy Speakers David “Jayjay” Suarez.

“Nanggaling pa sa iba’t ibang panig ng Pilipinas ang mga mambabatas na pumunta sa Davao City at nagpakita ng suporta sa BPSF, mula sa Luzon, Visayas at Mindanao. At nakita ng ating mga kababayan ang unity ng mga opisyal ng gobyerno sa Ehekutibo at Lehislatura. Ito ang esensya ng Bagong Pilipinas,” Speaker Romualdez said.

A total of P1.2 billion worth of government services and financial aid was rolled out to 250,000 beneficiaries during the BPSF in Davao City.