ALL 1,721 barangays in Iloilo province are set to receive P200,000 each under the National Government’s “Bawat Barangay Makikinabang” Program, which will provide a total of P344 million in assistance from the Malacañang coursed through the Iloilo Provincial Government for education support and community development projects.
Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. and Liga ng mga Barangay Provincial Federation President Amalia Victoria Debuque met on May 18, 2026, to discuss preparations for the release and distribution of the funds.
The Provincial Government is targeting the release of the assistance on July 19 during the Iloilo Provincial Liga ng mga Barangay Day ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address on July 27.
Under the program, P100,000 from each barangay allocation will be used for educational assistance benefiting five college students from every barangay.
Each scholar will receive P20,000, with priority given to graduating or senior college students from low-income families, households affected by unemployment or underemployment, and families without a college graduate.
Students enrolled in both private and state universities and colleges are qualified to receive the assistance.
The remaining P100,000 may be utilized by barangays for projects, equipment, and disaster preparedness initiatives aimed at improving frontline public services.
These include solar streetlights, closed-circuit television cameras, patrol vehicles, disaster response equipment, office equipment, tents, monoblock chairs, and other disaster risk reduction and management initiatives.
The provincial government said the funding is expected to create a wider impact in Iloilo, which has the highest number of barangays in the country. Officials said the assistance would help ease the financial burden of students and parents while enabling barangays to implement small-scale but urgent community projects.
Defensor, Debuque, and selected members of the Provincial Finance Committee are scheduled to travel to Manila on May 28 to formalize the downloading of funds from the national government to the Iloilo Provincial Government. (Leo Solinap)