THE Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. has been rolling out over P500 million in cash aid, livelihood packages, scholarships, and several other government programs to around 80,000 people in the province of Zambales on Saturday until Sunday.
Speaker Martin G. Romualdez, one of the leading proponents and supporters of the service caravan, said the Marcos administration is committed to unhampered delivery of public services to the people through the two-day BPSF event at the Botolan People’s Plaza in the Municipality of Botolan in Zambales, the first one in the Central Luzon region.
Speaker Romualdez, who served as the keynote speaker of the BPSF opening Saturday morning, represented President Marcos during the event.
“Ipapaabot natin ang pagmamahal ng ating Pangulong Bongbong Marcos sa mga Zambaleños sa pamamagitan ng Serbisyo Caravan na ito. Dadalhin namin ang serbisyo ng pamahalaan sa inyo, tulad ng pangako ng ating mahal na Pangulo,” Speaker Romualdez said.
“As instructed by President Marcos, we are here to bring government services and programs closer to the people. We thank all the people behind this service caravan that has benefitted so many Filipinos so far,” Speaker Romualdez, the leader of the 300-plus-strong chamber, said.
“When we started the Serbisyo Fair last year, we never imagined that it would be a resounding success like what we’ve seen in the provinces we’ve visited. Kaya patuloy natin itong gagawin sa mga susunod na buwan dahil nakikita natin ang direktang benepisyo nito sa mga mamamayan,” he added.
The Zambales BPSF will be the 10th installment of the serbisyo caravan, which aims to cover all 82 provinces nationwide.
Zambales Rep. Doris “Nanay Bing” E. Maniquiz, together with Zambales Gov. Hermogenes “Jun” Edejer Ebdane Jr. and Botolan Municipal Mayor Jun Omar Ebdane, served as the local hosts of the event.
Several members of the House were also present to support the BPSF, including Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga 3rd Dist Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, Bataan 2nd District Rep. Albert Garcia, Bataan 3rd District Rep. Maria Angela Garcia, Bulacan 1st District Rep. Danny Domingo, Bulacan 2nd District Rep. Tina Pancho, Bulacan 6th District Rep. Salvador Pleyto, Nueva Ecija 4th District Rep. Emeng Pascual, Pampanga 4th District Rep. Anna York Bondoc, Tarlac 3rd District Rep. Noel “Bong” Rivera and Pusong Pinoy Parylist Rep. Jett Nisay.
With 46 participating national government agencies, over 170 services are being offered until Sunday for an estimated 80,000 beneficiaries during the two-day festival of services.
A total of P500 million worth of programs and services have been brought to the province, including P154 million cash assistance.
Among the services being offered are a province-wide payout of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) in all 13 municipalities, which is expected to reach over 26,000 individual beneficiaries amounting to P52 million.
Other province-wide activities include various scholarship programs of CHED and livelihood assistance for various sectors in pre-identified eligible clients across Zambales under the programs of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE).
On the first night of the Serbisyo Fair, a Pasasalamat Concert will also be held at the Zambales Sports Complex, in Iba, Zambales with free admission.
The Pasasalamat Concert on Saturday night is expected to draw a crowd of at least 35,000 people.
