Indigent residents and students of this Cotabato province capital received cash aid amounting to a total of PHP10 million through the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) over the weekend.

Senator Imee Marcos, North Cotabato Governor Emmylou Mendoza, 1st District Rep. Samantha Santos and DSWD-12 Director Loreto Cabaya Jr. led the distribution of PHP2,000 each to 5,000 students and other beneficiaries in Kabacan and Carmen towns on Sunday.

Two-thousand working students, persons with disabilities and single parents received the cash grant at University of Southern Mindanao main campus in Kabacan while 3,000 indigent residents were at Carmen municipal gymnasium.

“Government aid could serve as start-up small businesses through your handicraft skills and in processing agriculture products,” Marcos told the recipients, whom she advised to maximize their potentials and look for ways to generate viable income.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian previously said that the only consideration for the distribution of aid for the indigent and those in crisis situations is their current circumstance as assessed by social workers in the central, satellite and field offices. (PNA)