• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Bacolod City government will receive P12.2 million in financial assistance from the Office of the President (OP) under the Bawat Barangay Makikinabang (BBM) program.
The assistance includes P100,000 for each of the 61 barangays, and another P100,000 as educational assistance, at P20,000 each, for five Bagong Pilipinas Barangay scholars.
Mayor Greg Gasataya has been authorized by the Sangguniang Panlungsod July 8 to sign the deed of donation with the OP.
“The fund shall be used solely for the approved purposes and shall not be applied to infrastructure projects, honoraria, allowances, professional fees, or any other disallowed or inconsistent expenditures under applicable laws, rules, and regulations,” the deed of donation states.
Most of the barangays in Bacolod will use the assistance to purchase computers, printers, monobloc chairs, CCTVs, and patrol vehicles.
In Negros Occidental, its 601 barangays are set to receive a total of P120.2 million, also under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s BBM program.
Provincial administrator, Atty. Rayfrando Diaz II, who showed the check in a Facebook post Tuesday night, said Board Member Richard Julius Sablan, representative of the Liga ng Mga Barangay, and Provincial Treasurer Amy Grace Ofamin Bolivar claimed and facilitated the release of the check from the Office of the Executive Secretary.
“We support barangay development all the way,” Diaz said in a Philippine News Agency report July 8.
The BBM program directly benefits the 42,011 barangays nationwide, and is a dual-component intervention initiative by the government. | CGC
