ALEXANDER Hiponia, 66, a father of five from Silay City, got the shock of his life when he was identified as one of the 15 beneficiaries of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Pangkabuhayan package worth P30,000 during the Integrated Sustainable Assistance Recovery and Advancement Program (Isarap) convergence activity at the Natalio Velez Sports and Cultural Center in Silay City on April 8.”Miracle. This is a blessing from above,” a teary-eyed Hiponia exclaimed when asked for his reaction of the financial assistance he unexpectedly received from DOLE as part of various benefits and services given out during the Isarap in Negros Occidental.Hiponia, who was volunteering as parking marshall outside of the venue where his wife’s small eatery was located, was approached and assessed as a qualified beneficiary of the program.”Thank you very much for this livelihood program. We are very happy that the government took notice of us. This is a big privilege, a big help to us. This government is the best,” he added.Some 13 national government agencies, which include the DOLE, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), National Housing Authority (NHA), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), among others, gave out their assistance to their identified beneficiaries during the convergence activity.CDA Assistant Secretary Vidal Villanueva III told the beneficiaries that the presence of officials and the government agencies in Isarap is an expression of the care and love of President Rodrigo Duterte “for all of you here in the province of Negros Occidental.”Villanueva said it is always in the heart of the President to reach especially those who need the government the most. For example, free college education for the youth who cannot afford to go to college.”To those who are sick, there is the Health Care Program for free hospital access including the Malasakit Center and here in Region 6, you have witnessed the facelift of your most treasured Boracay Island to bring it back to being a world class tourist destination,” she added.Isarap is in compliance with the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to make the Filipino people feel and realize that their government is with them and taking care of them up to the final stretch of his administration.After Negros Occidental, the Isarap Western Visayas leg will be in Iloilo and Aklan on April 9 and 10, respectively. (PIA)