LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. and Benguet caretaker Congress representative Eric Yap disclosed that more than P1 billion in various financial assistance programs is still available for disposal by concerned government agencies to qualified recipients in the province even with the upcoming turnover of the country’s leadership from President Rodrigo Duterte to Presumptive President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr..
Yap, who is the outgoing chairperson of the House committee on appropriations, claimed that the P4 million previously earmarked for the government’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay Para Sa Disadvantaged and Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program is still intact with the labor department and will be ready for release to the identified recipients in the next several months for the payment services rendered pursuant to the guidelines of the said program.
Further, he added that the funds allocated for the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) which is under the social welfare department will also be available because the incoming head of the agency is his close acquaintance.
On the other hand, Yap stipulated that funds for the government’s medical assistance to indigent patients (MAIP) lodged with the health department is still readily available for downloading to the health facilities in the province for the provision of free medical assistance to identified indigent patients being treated in these health care units.
Last Monday, the neophyte lawmaker facilitated the downloading of some P120 million to the Benguet General Hospital (BeGH) for the sustained implementation of the MAIP after the earlier P100 million downloaded to the health facility for the same purpose was exhausted by the enormous demand from the patients being confined in the hospital for the treatment of their different illnesses.
According to him, now that he was given a chance by the people of Benguet to be the province’s District Representative to the House of Representatives, he will work double time to continue bringing in the implementation of various programs and projects from concerned government agencies that will translate to the overall growth and development of the different rural communities.
Moreover, Rep. Yap emphasized that genuine public service will continue to prevail for the people to have easier access to the basic services from concerned government agencies and for development projects to reach the needy remote villages.
By noon of June 30, 2022, Yap will be assuming his post as a full pledged District Representative of Benguet after being voted upon for the post by majority of the province’s electorate who bestowed their trust and confidence even if he is just an adopted son of Benguet having stayed in the province for over 2 years since he was appointed as the legislative caretaker following the untimely demise of the late Rep. Nestor B. Fongwan, Sr. on December 18, 2019.
