The government’s cash aid and rice distribution (CARD) program was launched in Zambales yesterday, coinciding with the opening of the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) in the province.
The CARD Program is a project of Speaker Martin G. Romualdez, the House of Representatives, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development in response to the challenge of President Marcos for lawmakers to provide rice assistance to Filipinos.
“We hope that this program provides temporary relief to our citizens who find it difficult to cope with the cost of daily living. Rest assured that while we roll out programs like this, the Marcos administration is doing everything it can to provide more jobs and livelihood to the people,” Romualdez said.
For Zambales, a total of 3,000 residents in the congressional district of Rep. Doris Maniquiz received P2,000 worth of assistance – P500 worth of rice and P1,500 in cash to buy other food essentials.
The BPSF, on the other hand, has been extending out over P500 million in cash aid, livelihood packages, scholarships, and several other government programs to around 80,000 residents in Zambales during its two-day rollout that will end today.
The Zambales BPSF will be the 10th installment of the serbisyo caravan, which aims to cover all 82 provinces nationwide.
With 46 participating national government agencies, over 170 services are being offered until today, which include a province-wide payout of the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) in all 13 municipalities.
Maniquiz, together with Zambales Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and Botolan Municipal Mayor Jun Omar Ebdane served as local hosts of the event.