SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union (PIA) – The Office of First District Representative Francisco Paolo Ortega V has released P1.4 billion worth of assistance and projects that benefitted the congressional district in the second semester of 2023.

The assistance and projects cover beneficiaries from July to December 2023 and include a range of services coming from different government programs and social services.

A total of 22,424 beneficiaries received educational, medical, burial, and traveling assistance worth P89.7 million from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Region 1’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS).

Medical assistance worth P70.2 million in partnership with public and private hospitals in La Union meanwhile benefitted 26,101 residents of La Union’s first district in collaboration with the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center (ITRMC), Bethany Hospital, Lorma Hospital, and the La Union Medical Diagnostic Center and Hospital (LUMED).

A total of P178.3 million worth of farm machinery and equipment, hybrid seeds, and farm assistance was also awarded to 13,221 beneficiaries and 42 associations in partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA)-Region 1.

Eight towns in the first district of La Union meanwhile received emergency employment through the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Region 1’s “Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD)” program, with a total of 6,755 beneficiaries for the year.

Moreover, DOLE’s Government Internship Program (GIP) contributed P3.7 million in assistance for 107 beneficiaries while the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)-Region 1’s scholarship program benefitted 112 beneficiaries with assistance worth P1.9 million.

In terms of infrastructure projects, 83 projects for the construction of roads, bridges, slope protection, flood mitigation structures, water supply systems, multi-purpose buildings, school buildings, and farm-to-market roads were secured for La Union’s first district, totaling over P1 billion, with 65 projects completed and 18 ongoing.

Ortega’s office also handed over assistance worth more than P1 million to 216 beneficiaries.

Ortega said that the accomplishment of the first district of La Union forms part of the goal of providing a holistic set of interventions for the benefit of residents in the area.

“As we welcome the year 2024, we are proud to report that we have gathered a total of 1.422 billion worth of projects for the second half of 2023… Through this holistic approach, we aim to continue to deliver [for] our constituents,” Ortega said. (JCR/AMB/MJTAB/CCMT, PIA La Union)