Iloilo Liga ng Barangay eyes expansion of ‘Aid on Wheels’ program

PROGRAM EXPANSION. Liga ng mga Barangay Iloilo president and ex-officio Board Member Amalia Victoria Debuque delivers her message during the 2025 Liga Day at the Iloilo Sports Complex on Sunday (Aug. 24). She said they intend to expand the Barangay Aid on Wheels and the Kaibigan mo ang Liga programs to support more beneficiaries. (Photo courtesy of Kap Amalia Debuque)

ILOILO CITY – The Liga ng mga Barangay (LnB) in Iloilo province is hoping to expand its "Barangay Aid on Wheels" program to assist local officials in handling legal issues in their locality.

LnB Iloilo president and ex-officio Board Member Amalia Victoria Debuque said they would also like to include in the program the Lupon ng Tagapamayapa and members of barangay tanod or village security.

"My concept of this Barangay Aid on Wheels, this is just an umbrella project. In the future, we can have the training for Lupon ng Tagapamayapa and tanod. We're working with a lot of departments and agencies to expand it," she said in a media interview Sunday afternoon.

The initiative was launched in 2024 in collaboration with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Iloilo chapter and the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Iloilo.

"This is a continuous project. As much as possible, we can go to all 42 municipalities and one component city, bringing health, legal assistance, and DILG programs and services closer to the barangays," she added.

The program is helpful since barangay officials do not have money to secure legal assistance, she said.

So far, they have already brought the program to four municipalities and lined up more local government units.

During the activity, she said they were joined by a maximum of five lawyers and law students.

Meanwhile, they also intend to expand the "Kaibigan mo ang Liga" program, which provides burial, medical, and hospital aid to barangay officials.

"It's not a big amount. It is enough for them to get by," she said.

She said that once they can gather more funds in the future, they are also looking forward to including volunteer workers, like the barangay health workers and barangay service point officers, on their list of beneficiaries. (PNA)

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