Marcos releases P8B for barangay, student projects
President Marcos has ordered the immediate distribution of P8 billion worth of subsidies to more than 42,000 barangays to help the communities cushion the impact of the Middle East crisis.
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said in a statement on Thursday that each of the barangays would receive P200,000 as funding for their educational, social and economic projects under the administration’s “Bawat Barangay Makikinabang” program.
Half of the P200,000 funding may be used for barangay projects, including street lights, patrol vehicles and closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) to promote safety, or power generators for health centers and evacuation centers.
The other half shall be used to fund a “finisher program” for barangay residents who are college seniors so that their graduation will not be “derailed or delayed” by the economic disturbance caused by the Middle East crisis.
According to the Office of the Executive Secretary, up to 200,000 graduating college students can be saved from economic dislocation that might force them to drop out of school under this program.
“We are protecting the dreams of students who are already within reach of graduation. We will not allow them to stop in their final year of studies,” Recto said.
According to Recto, the initiative was rolled out on March 24 “without fanfare,” with 5,000 barangays as the first batch of recipients.
Among the latest beneficiaries were the barangays of Pilar, Bataan, who received their grants on Thursday with the President in attendance.
Direct to communities
“Support will be provided directly to the barangays. The President has ordered to strengthen our barangays because these front liners are the closest to the people,” Recto said.
“They are the first to see problems, and they should also have the capacity to act immediately,” he added.
To ensure seamless and speedy release of funds, the Office of the President has partnered with the Liga ng mga Barangay in mobilizing recipients and monitoring fund use.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government will oversee the implementation of the program. The agency’s field offices shall see to it that fund use shall comply with public budgeting, accounting and audit rules.
Recto said the distribution of the subsidy to the barangays must be completed before June, and all funds must be utilized by the end of the year.
The Inquirer asked Recto for the funding source of the program from the 2026 national budget, but he did not respond as of writing.
In February, Marcos launched “Sa Bagong Pilipinas, Bawat Bayan Makikinabang” program, allowing provincial, municipal and city governments to tap into the P58-billion Local Government Support Fund.
Lawmakers and different stakeholders has urged the Marcos admininstration to realign the national budget and tap into contingency funds to mitigate the impact of the war in the Middle East that triggered soaring fuel prices, depreciated the peso and threatens livelihood and food security.
The Department of Budget and Management said it has set aside P238 billion for this purpose, focusing on assistance on key targeted and most vulnerable sectors.
The funding was drawn from different items from the 2026 General Appropriations Act and continuing appropriations.
