City holds livelihood summit

vBAGUIO CITY – the city government through the City Social Welfare and Development Office has successfully held the first Livelihood Summit in this mountain resort.
The said summit is in line with the observance of the Micro Small Medium Enterprise (MSME) Month with the theme” Strengthening MSME’s Participation in Global and Regional Trade.”
The event was held at the Pines View Hotel from 8 am to 5 in the afternoon.
Participants are mostly clientele of the CSWDO who has availed of capital assistance and the different barangay based organizations.
Mayor Mauricio Domogan during the summit inspired the different organizations to sustain the financial support being offered by the government.
Domogan said,” the city government has been extending financial and technical assistance to the different organizations in the city for the past years.”
“But you have to help yourselves, you have to improve to make this endeavour a sustainable one and you have to be sincere in conducting this livelihood,’ he said.
The mayor explained some organizations did not take care of the grant which the government has extended to them in the past.
“It would be better if the assistance is in the form of a loan with no interest and no security, that way they will be obliged to use the money where it is intended and return it afterwards so it can be used by other borrowers who plan to put up a business,” he said.
The chief executive also challenged the participants to help craft a Livelihood Development Plan which the city can use.
Also present during the summit are Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda, Committee Chair on Social Services, Women and Urban Poor and Councilor Isabelo Cosalan, Jr., Committee Chair on Employment, Livelihood Cooperatives and Persons with Disabilities (PWD).
The participants were oriented on the Self-Employment Assistance Program (SEAP) by the OCSWADO, Increasing Productivity by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE-CAR), Entrepreneurship by Michael Del Rosario, Proprietor of Sunshine Supermart and Development of Enterprise Competencies by Edmund Benavidez, Saint Louis University – Extension Institute for Small Scale Industries Foundation, Inc.
MSMEs account to the majority of businesses in the country which also generates employment for its citizens.
The city government is presently focusing its attention on strengthening MSMEs with the right programs and support from government and other stakeholders to help poor residents become successful entrepreneur who can provide for their families.