ITOGON, Benguet – Rep. Eric Yap assured residents of the province who are beneficiaries of the social welfare department’s Assistance to Individuals and Crisis Situation (AICS) to wait for the schedule of the distribution of their financial assistance as funds had already been sourced out for the continuous implementation of the said program in the different parts of the country.
Yap expressed his gratitude to Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo for sourcing out the needed funds from the budget department so that previously identified recipients of the AICS can receive the financial assistance for their needs during difficult situation caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and various natural disasters that struck the country since last month.
The lawmaker claimed there are still recipients of the financial assistance from the AICS from some municipalities who did not get their assistance because of the earlier reported depleted funds for the program following the need to provide similar assistance to calamity-stricken areas in the country which had to be prioritized by the social welfare department.
Among the earlier identified recipients of the financial assistance from the AICS include senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs), displaced pocket miners, and indigenous peoples.
Yap claimed he will continue to make representations with the concerned government agencies to access funds for assistance and implementation of development projects that will contribute in elevating the status of the province and for the improved quality of life of the people in the province’s 140 barangays.
According to him, the programs, projects and activities of concerned government agencies related to assistance will still be there despite the change in the country’s leadership and he will strive to access these for the people of Benguet.
He stipulated that Benguet still needs more development funds to improve the inter-municipal, inter-provincial and inter-regional access so that farmers can freely transport their agricultural produce to the nearest markets and command higher buying prices because of the high quality of their crops.
Yap underscored that development will translate to better quality of life for people in the countryside thus concerned government agencies should prioritize high-impact development projects that will ensure significant improvements on infrastructures around the province. Yap served as the province’s caretaker congressman from January 20, 2020 to June 30, 2022 after the untimely demise of the late Rep. Nestor B. Fongwan, Sr. on December 18, 2019 following a lingering illness. He was eventually elected as the province’s representative to the House during the May 9, 2022 synchronized national and local elections.
