Mr. Rodolfo Samian, 54, adjusted his leg as he sat waiting for his turn to receive his grant during a Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office 1 payout at the San Juan Multipurpose Covered Court in San Juan town recently.
The old and weary
His bright red shirt was impossible to miss even in a sea of red shirts converging in the aforementioned court to receive their assistance, with his brown and wrinkled face showing the effects of years of exposure under the sun plying his trade as a tricycle driver.
Mr. Samian said that he took some time off of his driving schedule to receive his assistance from the DSWD, noting how the assistance provides a way for him to get by with his needs, especially as he mentions how his earnings from driving has become almost not enough to cover for his needs with the rising prices of commodities.
He was thankful that the social welfare and development agency chose him as one of the beneficiaries to be given with assistance as he also shoulders the bulk of the expenses for his family even in his advancing age.
“Agyaman nak unay iti naited nga tulong nga naggapu iti DSWD. Masapul ku datuy ta adu ti kasapulan iti pamilyak (I thank the DSWD for the assistance provided. I need this assistance because of the many needs we have in my family),” Mr. Samian said.
The young and giddy
About six kilometers south of San Juan’s Covered Court, a similarly giddy atmosphere was present among beneficiaries lining up at the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) Mid-La Union Campus in the San Fernando City, but instead of the wearied faces of workers who have plied their trade for decades, the scene is full of bright and optimistic students eager to graduate and prove their worth outside of the confines of school.
One of the students was Chris Jovan Herreria, 20, from DMMMSU’s South La Union Campus in Agoo town, about 33 kilometers away from San Fernando City.
Herreria rode a bus early just to get to San Fernando City on time, understanding that assistance like the one given by the DSWD helps as he tries to navigate the intricacies of school life, not to mention the requisite finances needed to get by with the many requirements in school.
The look in Herreria’s eyes are one of determination and excitement, not uncommon for young people looking to make their mark in life, their optimism needed to be infused in La Union’s working population when these young students eventually graduate.
When asked where the assistance from the DSWD will be spent, Mr. Herreria was quick to mention his school needs, with the assistance he will receive to be used to fund his education.
“This educational assistance is beneficial to the students [beneficiaries] of Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University. I will use the assistance provided for my school needs,” Mr. Herreria said.
DSWD’s assistance to vulnerable sectors
Samian and Herreria are just two of around 4,500 beneficiaries assisted by the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program on November 3, as personnel from the DSWD Field Office 01 were dispersed at the San Juan Covered Court to cater to Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (TODA) members and Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) and the DMMMSU-MLUC Gymnasium for student-beneficiaries.
Around 2,500 TODA members and BHWs received P3,000 each in San Juan town while around 2,000 students received P5,000 each in San Fernando City, as the DSWD’s AICS program looks to assist poor and vulnerable beneficiaries and provide for their medical, traveling, and educational needs.
Senator Imee Marcos, who attended both payouts, said that the assistance is for sectors badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and the crippling of the local economy that resulted from the closing of schools and other business at its height, with these sectors only starting to recover from its aftereffects.
“Tuluy-tuloy ang pamimigay natin ng ayuda sa mga nahihirapang sektor dito sa San Juan. Sikayo ti panpaneknek nga amin nga problema adda solusyon na (You are the proof that all problems have a solution),” Senator Marcos said in her speech in San Juan.
Speaking to the student-beneficiaries in San Fernando City, Senator Marcos reminded the former to focus the assistance provided on their educational needs, underscoring the crucial role that education plays in providing better opportunities later in life.
“Galingan ninyo at siguraduhin ninyong matapos kayo, na mataas ang inyong grades. Ipagmalaki natin na matalino ang mga Ilocano,” Senator Marcos said.
Significant assistance provided
All in all, the set of payouts held in San Juan town and San Fernando City distributed around P17.5 million in cash aid to a varied set of beneficiaries, proving how the DSWD’s AICS program provides services to a great many recipients.
Just as Mr. Samian tries to navigate life after many decades of work and as Mr. Herreria tries to carve his path in life through education, DSWD’s assistance remains a constant source of help, a social safety means to bridge people towards better work and educational opportunities. (JCR/AMB/MJTAB/CCMT, PIA La Union)
