Selected beneficiaries received new pairs of shoes while others were given bicycles so they can travel to work with ease while public transportation remains limited. Another set of workers was provided computer tablets to help their children participate remotely in their classes under the blended learning set-up.
To offset the financial impacts of the pandemic, personnel from the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Labor and Employment also provided separate financial assistance through their Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation and Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged / Displaced Workers programs, respectively.
The Department of Trade and Industry and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, in turn, conducted assessments of potential beneficiaries for their respective assistance programs.
“Unang una, nagpapasalamat ako kay President Rodrigo Duterte at nakatanggap po kami dito ng financial assistance. Maraming, maraming salamat din kay Senator Bong Go para sa aking bagong bisikleta at iba pang tulong na kanyang ibinigay!” said Candelaria Camino.
To help reduce their risk of contracting severe symptoms of COVID-19, the Senator offered further assistance to any beneficiary with health-related concerns. He urged them to seek the services of the Malasakit Center located at the Cotabato Provincial Hospital in Kidapawan City.
The Malasakit Center is a one-stop shop where poor and indigent patients may conveniently avail medical assistance from the relevant government agencies, namely the DSWD, Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. The centers have benefited more than two million Filipinos nationwide.
Go continued his message and thanked the public officials for their service at this time, specifically 3rd District Representative Jose Tejada; Governor Nancy Catamco; Vice Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza; Mayor Reuel Limbungan; and Councilors Emiliano Ortizo, Alex Angulo, Cathlyn Sernal, Sofronio Suarez, Jr., Jose Paja Jr., Nestor Taasan, Nonito Porras, and Rogie Lantoria; Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative Samuel Laman; and Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President Niko delos Santos.
As Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, Go has supported the funding of various projects in North Cotabato, such as the construction of a bridge in Barangay Damawato, potable water system facilities in Barangays New Panay and New Caridad, and a new multi-purpose building in Tulunan.
He also supported the concreting of roads in Alamada, Banisilan, Libungan, Midsayap, President Roxas and Kidapawan City; construction of the Maria Caridad Bridge in Arakan, Aringay Bridge in Kabacan, Guangan Bridge in Makilala, and Del Pilar Bridge in Kidapawan City; and the construction or rehabilitation of drainage canals in Kabacan and Pikit.
Other major projects include the construction of multi-purpose buildings in Arakan, Makilala and Kidapawan City; barangay halls in Matalam and Midsayap; a Liga office in Makilala; a slaughterhouse and public market in Arakan; and the improvement of a public market building in Pigcawayan; among others. (OSBG)
