“Kapit” Access to Government Offices

The government has always had the power to give support and assistance to
our country. In particular localities, people have an expectation that government
offices will provide them with enough or just a little bit of accommodation and
attention for them to sustain their needs. Taking a look back, President Rodrigo Roa
Duterte is in the position of being a politician for our country, who supports and
continues the 4Ps program of the Aquino administration. Through this program, many
Filipinos are able to lessen their financial burden and help their children continue to
achieve academically. Moreover, it is not just a financial issue but also a social and
health issue for Filipinos due to the pandemic. In fact, the Philippines has begun to
resume normal situations and functions of government offices to aid the hardships of
Filipino citizens caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nevertheless, there was always hope for Filipinos to overcome the unfortunate
life that they have been experiencing due to being locked down. Thus, people are in
the situation where they used "kapit" or "hold" in trying to seek help and assistance
from these different government agencies. According to the World Economic Forum
(January 2023), rising inflation, energy supply, and food supply crises are some of the
current issues faced by millions of Filipinos. What I usually understand by this "kapit"
access to government offices is that we cannot fully aid and feel relieved in dealing
with problems that we cannot easily solve without any help from the government.
Perhaps, in our local government, instead of distributing some funds and goods
coming from higher government, they somehow take advantage of the crises that have
been arising by corrupting and using this people’s money for their personal
transactions.

Furthermore, agencies like the Department of Education (Dep Ed), the

Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),
and many more are flexible in dealing with the problem of free tuition in some
schools and universities to help Filipinos access quality education and address social
health issues. Additionally, the Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD) deals with a program called KALAHI-CIDSS (Kapit Bisig), which is a
program providing basic services like water, sanitation, education, and electrification
that strengthen the relationship between local government and the people. Actually,
the program focuses more on reducing poverty and household risk in some areas, so
people can still sustain development and improve their communities participation. In
conclusion, due to the many problems and issues that still exist in our nation,
personally, Filipinos always hope for a fair and just nation, and whoever is in a higher
position, he or she must carefully lead and show responsibility in building solidarity
with his or her people and governing the nation to ensure good access to life's
resources.