Legarda Siblings Pours Economic Packages in Antique

Pandan, Antique-Senate Pro Tempore President Loren Legarda, and her younger sibling, Congressman AA Legarda, have poured in millions of pesos worth of government projects that are boosting the economy of this province. Among the major projects.

Senator Legarda said that hundreds of residents of 18 municipalities received P10 million worth of cash assistance, with some P5 million from Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) from the regional office of the Department of Social Worker Welfare and Development. At the same time, another P5 million for each municipality for the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) from the Department of Labor and Employment.

Also, she gave away millions worth of projects for the construction of new roads, multipurpose buildings, and mangrove development.

“There’s more to come. Just come to our office or to Congressman AA and to our mayors; tell us what you need, and we will try to give it. I haven’t rejected any single request coming from the Antiquenos,” Loren, who hails from Barangay Mag-aba, Pandan Antique, said.

Each of the beneficiaries of TUPAD and AICS has received P5,000 cash and is expected to boost the economies of the 18 towns in the coming weeks.Loren is considered the longest-running senator in Philippine history.

For several years, Legarda has poured several economic impact projects into the province. The Philippine Statistics Authority reported in 2023 that the province of Antique has posted remarkable growth since its downturn in 2020 due to COVID-19 and has now surpassed the pre-pandemic level.

In a report of the Philippine Information Agency, in 2019, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the province was recorded at Php 68.24 billion but decreased to Php 60.72 billion in 2020, attributable to the negative economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The economic situation of Antique slowly recovered in 2021 with a GDP of Php 65.02 billion and further improved in 2022 at Php 70.69 billion, or a growth rate of 8.7 percent,” the PSA report indicated.