Guess who showed up at the P412-million aid distribution event in Benguet

The greatest show on Benguet Earth turned out to be a coup both for House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Benguet Representative Eric Go Yap.

According to the Philippine Information Agency, about 80,000 Benguet residents were expected to flock to the Benguet State University grounds for the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) on Sunday and Monday, April 21 and 22. 

Another 12,000 attended the “Pagkakaisa” concert Sunday night.

This is no mean feat because it was one of the hottest days in the province. Benguet people are also usually reserved and would be very hard to gather, despite the concert with Bamboo, Darren Espanto, Rocksteddy, ILT Band, and local chanteuse Ingrid Payaket.

House Speaker Romualdez was able to bring in 68 House representatives – the most number in the 14 other BPSFs held earlier around the country.

Most of the representatives came from the Northern Luzon Alliance (NLA) headed by Ilocos Sur 2nd District Representative Kristine Meehan Singson, who is a deputy speaker in the House. 

The NLA originally included only representatives from the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, and Cordillera regions. It has since expanded its membership beyond territorial boundaries to include key representations from vital sectors, such as party-list representatives.

Romualdez asked the NLA weeks before to join his Benguet foray, a source said.

He needed the NLA, which was started by Meehan’s father, Candon Mayor Eric Singson, and political kingpin Luis “Chavit” Singson, Eric’s cousin. 

The NLA has not been loyal to former President Rodrigo Duterte, as not all of the members had voted as a bloc for Duterte’s flagship legislation.

But President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administered the oath-taking of the recent NLA members last November.

Political observers say Speaker Romualdez, the President’s cousin, is courting the loyalty of the Ilocano bloc, as he is not exactly popular in this part of the country.

The large crowd at the BPSF was also a big boost for his political career. People queued as early as 5 am, and the resulting traffic jam in La Trinidad reached up to neighboring Baguio City.

“In this Service Fair, the various branches of the government willingly come to you to deliver the help you need for our collective development,” Romualdez said.

The Speaker was made an adopted son of La Trinidad with the moniker “Batakagan” or “Brightest Star.”

Benguet congressman Yap is also still courting the Benguet voters, even if he did win in a landslide in 2022. Before that, Yap was ACT-CIS party-list representative, but was designated as the caretaker representative of Benguet when congressman Nestor Fongwan died in 2019.

Yap is still largely seen as a Duterte ally, particularly a close friend of Davao Mayor Paolo Duterte, but the Benguet BPSF, which is a political gimmick of President Marcos, is seen as a paradigm shift for Yap.

The fair was set to roll out a total of P412 million in cash aid and government programs. A total of 70 participating national government agencies delivered over 326 services directly to the people of Benguet, and distributed some P261 million in financial aid.

Services available at the fair range from health, education, and agriculture to livelihood, social services, and regulatory support. In a new initiative for the BPSF, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) installation will be available for free, requiring only a minimum load of P500 per sticker, with support from the North Luzon Expressway.

“There will be payouts of cash assistance for pre-identified beneficiaries, along with food, raffle items, and several surprises for those who avail themselves of the services,” Yap said.

The “Pagkakaisa” concert was brought from Manila by Romualdez. The ILT Band actually means I Love Tacloban Band. – Rappler.com