Farmlands across three barangays in Sultan Kudarat regained irrigation this week after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inaugurated the rehabilitated Antong Dam and Irrigation System on Thursday, June 25, restoring water service to fields in Antong, Sampong, and Manili. The Presidential Communications Office said roughly 355 farmers stand to gain from the project, which is meant to bolster food security and sustain agricultural output over the long term.
The dam stop was the first of several engagements that took the President through the Soccsksargen Region, where communities are still recovering from the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck off Maasim, Sarangani, on June 8. South Cotabato was declared under a state of calamity in the aftermath, with more than 21,000 families and 170 barangays affected, according to BusinessMirror.
In Koronadal City, Marcos led a ceremonial turnover of Socio-Civic Projects Fund assistance under the administration’s “Bawat Bayan Makikinabang” initiative, releasing P40 million to the South Cotabato provincial government and P96 million to the Cotabato provincial government. Each barangay receives P200,000 under the program, with half earmarked for locally identified priorities such as street lighting, equipment, and disaster response, and the rest set aside for the Bagong Pilipinas Barangay Scholars program, BusinessMirror reported.
The President used the visit to underscore changes he says he made to how calamity money reaches the ground. He told residents the government had overhauled the Quick Response Fund to shorten release times that previously stretched to a year.
“Asahan po ninyo, patuloy po nating ginagawa. Pinalitan din natin ‘yung sistema ng QRF. Dati, quick response fund pero isang taon bago mo makita. Kaya pinalitan namin ‘yong sistema para mas mabilis ang pagbaba ng QRF,” he said.
Marcos tied his push for direct national-to-local coordination on the Local Government Support Fund to his nine years as governor of Ilocos Norte, recalling that the fund had been difficult to access in the past.
“Tinatanong ko ‘yung mga kapwa governor ko sabi ko sa kanila, ‘Saan ba? Paano ba maka-avail? Papaano ba tayo makahingi?’ Sabi nila, ‘hindi, walang sistema. Basta kung sinong medyo malakas sa Palasyo, malakas sa Malacañang, eh kung makalapit sila, ‘yun ang nabibigyan.’ Pero walang sistema,” he recounted.
“Kaya sabi ko, ito na ‘yong pagkakataon ko baguhin ang sistema para mapunta sa LGSF sa local government,” he added.
While in the province, the President also inspected the rollout of the Department of Agriculture’s Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty Program and the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Walang Gutom or Food Stamp Program, both aimed at curbing involuntary hunger, malnutrition, and stunting. Through the food stamp program, the administration is targeting 600,000 food-poor households this year, with a goal of reaching 750,000 by 2027.
