More than one thousand indigent individuals from the different parts of the city and nearby Benguet province were provided with financial assistance from the government through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS).
Senator Imee Marcos and Regional Director Leo Quintilla of the Cordillera office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-CAR) led the distribution of the P5,000 cash aid to each of the recipient in separate venues in the city and the province to help them cope up with the difficult situation that they are currently encountering.
Senator Marcos earlier visited the nearby town of La Trinidad and witnessed the distribution of the said financial assistance to some 500 farmers, persons with disabilities and solo parents who were previously screened by the DSWD to be qualified recipients of the cash aid.
She also dropped by the Baguio Convention Center to witness the distribution of the cash aid to some 500 senior high school and college students who were screened by the concerned agency as qualified recipients of the said aid under the AICS program.
Marcos assured the individuals who need assistance from the government that concerned offices will do their part in trying to source out available funds for the pay out of the said cash aid to the screened qualified recipients so that they will be able to use the amount to provide for the basic needs of their families among others.
According to her, for as long as there will be people who are in need of financial assistance, the government will try to look for available funds to sustain the implementation of the AICS because of the enormous number of people that have already benefitted from its implementation and the others that are also expected to benefit from the same in the future.
Senator Marcos claimed that individuals who had been identified to be qualified recipients should be patient in awaiting the release of the funds for their assistance because of the huge number of people who are in need of help from concerned government agencies because the government is doing its best to apportion the limited funds to cater to the important needs of the people.
The DSWD has been tasked to administer the implementation of the AICS and other social welfare programs, projects and activities of the government because of the availability of trained personnel who are capable of handling the said initiatives.
Senator Marcos also took the chance of consulting with the young farmers and cooperative leaders in the city and the province during her recent visit for her to be appraised on the latest trend of agriculture, especially in Benguet which is the Salad Bowl of the Philippines being the source of more than 82 percent of the semi-temperate vegetables being sold in the different markets around the country.
The lay senator said that more people will be provided with such emergency assistance once there will be available funds that will be available with the social welfare department which plays a key role in the sustainable implementation of the program.
