Zamboanga City BPSF pours P580 million in govt service and cash, livelihood aid to 111,000 beneficiaries

THE Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF), the flagship program of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. that brings government service and assistance directly to the people, has rolled out a total of P580 million to (111,000) beneficiaries in Zamboanga City during its two-day festival of services on Friday until Saturday.

Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, one of the main proponents of the BPSF, said the Serbisyo Caravan in Zamboanga City marks the 16th installment of the revolutionary program of the Marcos administration that brings together 417 government services from 47 agencies under one roof, including cash aid payouts.

“Hatid ng BPSF ang direktang serbisyo mula sa gobyerno patungo sa mga mamamayan. Mismong ang pamahalaan na ang pupunta sa lalawigan ninyo, hindi niyo na kailangang maglakbay at gumastos para pumunta sa mga sentro sa probinsya para makakuha ng serbisyo at ayuda,” said Speaker Romualdez, the leader of the 300-plus-strong House of Representatives.

“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. This is the very essence of inclusive development and responsive governance,” he added.

The local host for the BPSF is Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe and Mayor John Dalipe. The event kicked off with an Opening Program at the Zamboanga City Coliseum on May 10, where Speaker Romualdez represented President Marcos Jr. as keynote speaker.

The Serbisyo Fair was complemented by a Pagkakaisa Concert at the KCC Parking Grounds, offering free admission to all attendees. With an expected crowd of at least 20,000, the concert aims to celebrate unity and solidarity among the people of Zamboanga City.

Also, the BPSF in Zamboanga City is the biggest so far in terms of attendance of members of the House of Representatives, as a total of 85 lawmakers attended the event.

Zamboanga City is also the fifth Mindanao province to be visited by the Serbisyo Fair, next to Bukidnon, Agusan del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, and Davao de Oro. In fact, the BPSF will be swinging by Tawi-Tawi and Davao del Norte within the next few weeks, bringing the total number of provinces in Mindanao where the service caravan has visited to seven.

“Ito rin ang pinakaunang lalawigan sa Region IX na ating napuntahan. At ikinagagalak kong ibalita na pupunta naman tayo sa Tawi-Tawi sa BARMM sa mga susunod na mga araw at doon ilalapit ang serbisyo ng gobyerno sa mga tao,” Speaker Romualdez said.

Of the P580 million that will be rolled out in Zamboanga City, P273 million of this will be in the form of cash assistance. A city-wide payout to 67,311 beneficiaries of the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) of the DSWD worth P252 million.

Also, a total of 355,000 kilos of rice were distributed by Speaker Romualdez to qualified beneficiaries in Zamboanga City, true to his nickname “Mr. Rice.”

Other city-wide activities include various scholarship programs of TESDA and CHED and livelihood assistance for various sectors of pre-identified eligible beneficiaries across Zamboanga City.

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

Both are initiatives of Speaker Romualdez that use the AICS Program of the DSWD to provide aid to struggling small entrepreneurs and students who need assistance with the costs of higher education learning.

A total of 3,000 SIBOL beneficiaries in Zamboanga City received P5,000 each from the AICS Program, along with 5 kilograms of rice at the a distribution held at the gymnasium of Claret School of Zamboanga City on May 10.

For the ISIP for the Youth, a total of 3,000 students were identified as beneficiaries and were given P2,000 each in financial assistance every six months through the DSWD AICS to cover tuition and other expenses. Also, they all received 5 kilograms of rice each at a simple ceremony in the Western Mindanao State University Gymnasium.

Identified student beneficiaries will be enrolled under CHED’s Tulong Dunong Program (TDP) where students can get scholarship assistance per semester amounting to a total of 15,000 pesos and priority slots under the Government Internship Program (GIP) after graduation.

Unemployed parents or guardians may also be enrolled in the DOLE-TUPAD Program.