THE ongoing aid caravan in Leyte led by the office of Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez entered its second week on Monday (July 15) with P64.84 million worth of assistance handed out so far for disadvantaged residents of the province.
Returning to Tacloban City, a payout was held at Brgy. 96, Calanipawan Monday morning delivering P6,000 each in cash under the Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita (AKAP) program to 938 beneficiaries, or a total of P5.628 million.
During a simultaneous rollout of aid benefits held at the Civic Center of the municipality of Alangalang, some 2,000 qualified residents received P4,050 each, for 10 days of work totalling P8.1 million under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) Program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
“As President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said, no one should be left behind in our ‘Bagong Pilipinas.’ In line with this principle, we have launched this aid caravan to deliver available assistance to disadvantaged residents of the province,” Romualdez said.
“We are aware that many of them don’t have the means to travel to the concerned government agencies in urban centers so we adopted the principle of Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair, which brings government services to the doorsteps of our people,” he added.
The AKAP aid rollout was led by Speaker Romualdez’s district office coordinator Cyril Malinao, in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development represented by Social Welfare Officer Rammilyn Majarilla.
On the other hand, the Speaker was represented in the TUPAD aid distribution by his district chief of staff, lawyer Mark Reyes, who led the payout in coordination with DOLE North Leyte field office head Engr. Emmanuel Dela Cruz.
They were assisted in the payout by Alangalang Mayor Lovell Ann Yu-Castro, Vice Mayor Mario Bague, and municipal councilors.
The Leyte aid caravan which includes the distribution of benefits under the CARD, TUPAD, and AKAP programs kicked off last July 9 at the People’s Center in Tacloban City and the town of Babatngon, followed by CARD payout in the municipality of Tanauan on the next day.
On Wednesday, the aid caravan rolled out benefit packages for qualified residents of Brgy. 94 Tigbao, Tacloban and in the municipality of Tolosa. It wrapped up the first week with aid rollout in Brgy. 96, Calanipawan, Tacloban City and at the town of Sta. Fe.
The aid caravan is slated to continue its delivery of aid packages to qualified residents of Leyte up to July 19.