6,000 Surigao del Sur beneficiaries receive rice, education, livelihood aid

A total of 6,000 residents of Surigao del Sur received rice and cash assistance Friday under three separate programs that aim to come to the aid of several segments of society, including the vulnerable sectors, students who need school aid, and struggling small entrepreneurs.

Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez led the distribution of aid under the Cash and Rice Distribution (CARD) Program, the Start-up, Incentives, Business Opportunity and Livelihood (SIBOL) Program, and the Integrated Scholarship and Incentives for the Youth (ISIP for the Youth) Program in separate instances in the province.

“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,” Speaker Romualdez, the leader of the 300-plus-strong House of Representatives, said.

“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.

Speaker Romualdez is one of the major proponents of all of the programs, as he said that he is always finding ways to help all of the sectors that need assistance.

“Lahat ng tulong na ito ay may balik. Tinutulungan natin sila sa oras ng kanilang pangangailangan para pagdating ng panahon na sila ay umunlad, magiging produktibong miyembro na sila ng lipunan,” Speaker Romualdez said.

House Deputy Secretary General Sofonias “Ponyong” P. Gabonada Jr., one of the leaders of the BPSF National Secretariat, said 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.

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

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

For the SIBOL Program, which aids struggling small entrepreneurs, he said a total of 2,000 qualified beneficiaries in Surigao del Norte received P5,000 in financial aid during a payout ceremony held at the Andres Soriano College of Bislig.

All of the beneficiaries received free 5 kilos of rice each, he said.

As for the ISIP for the Youth, Gabinada said a total of 2,000 tertiary education students in Surigao del Norte each received a cash aid of P2,000 every six months in a simple ceremony undertaken in the Bislig City Cultural and Sports Center.

Aside from the cash aid and free 5 kilos of rice, he said the students will also be enrolled under CHED’s Tulong Dunong Program (TDP) 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 (GIP) after graduation and their unemployed parents or guardians may also be enrolled in the DOLE-TUPAD Program, Gabonada said.