CEBU CITY — The “Biyaya ng Pagbabago” rollouts have been keeping the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte closer to the grassroots in the Visayas, a Kilusang Pagbabago (KP) official said Wednesday.
Doris Isubal-Mongaya, KP Visayas convenor, said several millions of pesos have already been shelled out for the benefit of the grassroots in the Visayas through the series of “Biyaya ng Pagbabago” rollouts in the region.
“The Tacloban rollout two weeks ago included the distribution of housing awards. It was the fourth in the Visayas under the ‘Biyaya ng Pagbabago.’ It began in Cebu City last April 21 and was followed in Talibon in Bohol and Iloilo City,” said Mongaya in an interview.
The “Biyaya ng Pagbabago,” valued at several millions of pesos benefitting the grassroots in the Visayas, is the anti-poverty program carried out under the auspices of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary headed by Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. and the Office for Participatory Governance (OPG) headed by Undersecretary Joselito Libres, who led the Tacloban rollout.
“Crucial to this grassroots program is the participation of pro-Duterte movement Kilusang Pagbabago that empowers grassroots groups to claim projects and programs of government agencies for their own benefit,” Mongaya said.
“You will notice (that) we are not just pushing for job creation. We are for spawning entrepreneurship down to the poorest sectors,” she added.
The rollouts at the Eastern Visayas State University in Tacloban last June 23 also included the awarding of a PHP200,000 peanut butter processing facility to a farmers group, and a PHP200,000 eco-septic technology to the Rural Health Unit of Hilongos by the Department of Science and Technology.
Forty-eight checks of PHP3,000 each were also awarded to the Special Program for the Employment of Students beneficiaries and 61 checks of PHP2,500 each to the beneficiaries of the Government Internment Program of the Department of Labor and Employment.
In addition, 20 pedicabs were distributed to deserving members of the grassroots communities in Eastern Visayas.
The Department of Agrarian Reform likewise awarded 100 certificates of land ownership under the government’s agrarian reform program and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) gave out 10 fiberglass boats.
The Tacloban City Hall distributed 399 certificates of housing awards while the National Housing Authority gave out 50 certificates.
In the Bohol rollout, the Philippine Coconut Authority distributed seedlings under the Coconut Seedling Dispersal Program, while the BFAR awarded 500 tilapia fries to 40 beneficiaries as well as 11 fish nets and floaters.
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) also gave out 1,500 scholarship grants.
In Iloilo, TESDA distributed 6,500 technical-vocational scholarships to equip those interested from grassroots communities.
The “Biyaya ng Pagbabago” program is a partnership with 12 government agencies.
Mongaya said job generation and the opportunities created under the program are part of the parameters, by which KP is being measured. (Luel Galarpe/PNA)
