AID DISTRIBUTION. A social worker (left) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Northern Mindanao (DSWD) interviews a beneficiary in Tubod town, Lanao del Norte, on Friday (July 5, 2024). President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. leads the distribution of over PHP67 million worth of DSWD assistance under the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program. (Photo courtesy of DSWD-10)
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday led the distribution of over PHP82 million worth of social services assistance to qualified beneficiaries in the Northern Mindanao region and Sulu province.
Coinciding the celebration of the 65th Araw ng Lanao del Norte, Marcos distributed more than PHP67 million under the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The figures consisted of 6,745 beneficiaries from Lanao del Norte, each receiving PhP10,000.
"Other than giving these land titles, we are visiting your communities so we can further understand your needs, and so we can find ways in giving them solutions," Marcos said.
Marcos also distributed 2,566 land titles to 2,857 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) covering around 3,000 hectares not only from Lanao del Norte, but also including those from the Provinces of Bukidnon, Camiguin, Misamis Occidental, and Misamis Oriental.
In addition, Marcos turned over farm machinery and equipment worth PHP2.6 million to seven ARB organizations, benefiting 200 beneficiaries from Lanao del Norte.
Lanao del Norte Governor Imelda Dimaporo, who also chairs the Northern Mindanao Development Council, said the Marcos administration also poured in additional budget for infrastructure development.
"I would also like to thank President Marcos for allocating additional funds for the access road for our Panguil Bay Bridge (Mindanao's longest bridge)," she said.
In Patikul, Sulu, Marcos handed over cash assistance worth PHP10,000 to select farmers and fisherfolk affected by the El Niño phenomenon; another PHP10 million financial aid to the Provincial Government of Sulu for distribution to the remaining beneficiaries.
DSWD also distributed PHP10,000 additional cash assistance to at least 5,000 farmers and fisherfolk in the Province.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao distributed farm equipment and inputs worth PHP2.05 million to 20 farmers associations and five kilos of rice to each attendee. (PNA)
