P-Noy, up close and personal with Pantawid beneficiaries in Bohol
By: Minerva BC Newman
CENTRAL VISAYAS, Sept. 10 (PIA) – The image of over a thousand hands trying to shake the hand of President Benigno S. Aquino III in Trinidad town in Bohol during his August 7 visit there, was the most up close and personal scene you can get from a country’s president and the ‘ordinary poor’ people.
Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries in Trinidad, Bohol tried to shake the hand of President Aquino, to personally express their thanks for the cash grants, said Aileen Lariba, DSWD-7 Pantawid Pamilya regional coordinator.
Lariba said, the beneficiaries could not contain their gladnness when the President said “may pondo na inala-an ang gobyerno na P21B. Dahil nakatipid tayo sa interes ng mga utang may savings ang gobyerno na P2B na siyangsumagot sa kulang na P2B, sa madaling salita,sigurado na ang budget sa Pantawid Pamilyang mga benepisyaryo na P23B.”
The very presence of P-Noy on a simple occassion such as the inauguration of the Trinidad hall meant so much to the townfolks of Trinidad who gave the President a thunderous applause when he said, “Kayo ang Boss Ko.”
“Dahil kayo ang BOSS ko, magsilbi tayo ng tapat at mabuti sa taong bayan at ang munisipyo ng Trinidad ay isang ehemplo na bunga ng masusing ugnayan ng lokal at pambansa na pamahalaan,” P-Noy said.
According to a town official, even before PNoy was elected to the Presidency, he was already a key player in the continuing renovation of the newly inaugurated Municipal Hall of Trinidad which was finished three months ahead of schedule.
The Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries of Trinidad likened the completion of the municipal hall as a symbol of the President’s call for “Tuwid na daan para sa Pilipinas.”
According to the town officials, to support such a call, Trinidad is the very first town in Bohol to implement a full disclosure policy where its financial statements are displayed at bulletin boards for the public to read and scrutinize.
On helping the poorest households in Bohol, DSWD-7 reported that to date more than 28,000 households are beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya program and that is 26 percent of the total poor in Bohol living below poverty threshold.
All these do not only give social assistance to the poor, it ensures that they definitely have a future to look forward to.