By Liza Agoot | Philippine News Agency
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday handed P10,000 assistance each to farmers, fisherfolk, and their families in a ceremonial turnover at Bienvenido Verzola Jr. Memorial Sports Complex in Luna, Apayao.
Sixty farmers and fishers from Apayao, Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province, representatives of the 27,185 spread out in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), personally received from the President the amount funded as the Presidential Assistance for Farmers, Fisherfolk, and their Families (PAFFF) intended for those affected by the El Niño phenomenon.
A total of 2,500 beneficiaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita (AKAP) program in Luna and in the municipality of Pudtol will also receive P10,000 each, to be distributed by the respective provincial governors.
“Masaya po ako na pagkatapos ng ilang beses na sinubukan natin na pagpunta, sa wakas nakarating po tayo dito sa Apayao,” the President said.
“Narito ako ngayon para makabawi naman ako,” he explained.
The President’s two previous planned visits were canceled due to inclement weather.
Among those turned over by the President to beneficiaries were P260 million worth of cash aid under PAFFF; P100 million for AKAP; P316 million worth of agricultural supplies and equipment, swine multiplier, fish hatchery, support to agricultural insurance program; and loan programs.
Also distributed were checks from the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s Local Government Support Fund; Shared Service Facilities for local industries for cacao, coffee, and weaving; P28 million for the emergency employment program TUPAD (Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers); and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) scholarship fund, tool kits, 3-D printing machines and livelihood kits.
All those who attended also went home with five kilograms of rice each from the provincial local government units.
“This is a special day for the Yapayaos which we will never forget. At last, the President’s visit finally materialized,” Apayao Governor Elias Bulut Jr. said in a message during the event. “We are really happy for the arrival of the President, the person we have long been waiting for, the country’s father, our fellow Ilocano.”
Magno Herrera, 65, a rice farmer from Luna, Apayao and a beneficiary of the P10,000 cash aid under PAFFF, was overflowing with gratitude.
“We are thankful for the P10,000 given by the President because I can use it for my plants, which I will need to provide the needs of my family,” he said in Ilocano.
