DAGUPAN CITY, March 26 (PNA) — Mayor Belen Fernandez hailed the new system of allocating government funds to the grassroots people or those who are really in need as she revealed that the thrust of the Dagupan City government is not only infrastructure but also livelihood.
This was spelled out by Mayor Belen Fernandez, citing that only this week, some 100 residents of Dagupan, men and women, received livelihood gadgets given jointly by different government agencies and the city government on a 50-50 sharing basis.
The recipients were idle indigent citizens who identified their needs in meetings conducted by people organizations in their respective areas and which in turn submitted these to the city federation of people’s organizations and eventually to the city government.
This is in line with the new approach of Grassroots Participatory Budgeting (GPB), formerly called Bottom Up Budgeting (BUB) where the grassroots people themselves are to identify their needs.
It is a system of allocating government funds to those who are really in need, said Fernandez, hailing the importance of GPB in reading out the people in the grassroots. She said this is only the first time that GPB is being effected in the country.
It is also a system of ensuring zero graft and corruption on government funds.
Fernandez cited the welding gears she distributed to the youth who first underwent training on welding with the help of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the city government for their immediate use to earn a living after their graduation.
She too distributed allowances to TESDA scholars which they will spend while they are taking the short course.
Then, there were kitchen wares made available by the Department of Agriculture for women so that they can cook delicacies for sale in their villages and fish nets from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to marginal fishermen so that they can increase their fish catch.
Fernandez hailed the GPB program of the national government under President Benigno Aquino III because this time, even the indigent citizens are getting funding from the national government so that they too can earn a living.
“On the other hand, we also provided wooden boats and oyster rafts to marginal fishermen for them to boost their incomes,” the mayor said. (PNA)