Some three hundred fifty-five individuals from the various barangays of the city were able to be given financial assistance to help sustain and improve their ongoing livelihood activities to provide added income for their families.
City Social Welfare and Development Officer Betty Fangasan stated that the beneficiaries of the said financial assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) were able to be given the grant of P10,000 to P15,000 each or a total amount of P5.055 million.
She added that funds for the livelihood grant that was recently distributed to the beneficiaries came from the Bayanihan 2 law where some allocations were really earmarked to help in improving the state of micro businesses in the different parts of the country.
The city social welfare officer claimed that the beneficiaries of the grant were the ones that were able to hurdle the rigid screening that was conducted by the DSWD and the local government to ensure that the assistance that they will get from the government will be used to improve their existing businesses for them to have a sustainable source of income that they could use to uplift the living condition of their respective families.
According to her, it is important for the recipients to value the grant that was given to them because the funds that had been used for the aid came from the taxes of the people through the Bayanihan 2 law.
Fangasan stipulated that the distributed grant to the identified livelihood beneficiaries is apart from the similar assistance being extended by the City Social Welfare and Development Office as funds for such purpose come from the limited resources of the city, thus, there should be no comparison that will be done on the amount that the recipients were able to receive from the DSWD and the amount being provided by the city for similar purposes.
The local government department head asserted that the funds that had been provided to the beneficiaries will definitely serve as among the numerous economic drivers being put in place by the concerned government agencies and the local government to allow the gradual and safe revival of the local economy that had been heavily impacted by the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
She admitted that a huge number of households in the city had been impacted by the pandemic as most of them lost their jobs because the companies where they were employed either ceased operations or reduced manpower. While others lost their economic activities because of the absence of people patronizing their products and services.
She challenged the beneficiaries of the livelihood assistance to maximize the use of their respective grants so that there will be a significant improvement in the conduct of their business activities as they might also help in employing responsible individuals during these difficult times where people are really need of opportunities to earn decent income for their respective families.
Fangasan called on those who were not lucky to be granted such grant to continue working hard to improve their businesses and wait for other similar opportunities that may be provided by the concerned government agencies and the local government in the future for they might be considered for similar aid in the coming months once there will be funds that will be allocated for the said purpose.
By Dexter A. See
Photo by Armando M. Bolislis
