LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – The municipal government earmarked some P5 million for the implementation of its sustainable livelihood assistance program geared towards aiding businesses to recover from the impact of the implementation of the community quarantine.
Mayor Romeo K. Salda said that of the said amount, P2.5 million will be for vegetable and cutflower farmers, P1.5 million will be used to aid the heavily impacted businesses while P1 million will be devoted for skills training for alternative livelihood.
He added that the local government is now accepting applications for its livelihood assistance program for the processing of the same.
The local chief executive pointed out that the program aims to assist in the economic recovery of small businesses as it is intended to alleviate the losses of business establishments in the municipality because of the community quarantine.
The targeted beneficiaries of the program include owners of computer shops, personal care services, massage, spa, manicure, pedicure; wagwagan stores; bars, excepts bars and restaurants; souvenir shops or tourism-related shops and other business establishments significantly affected by the global pandemic.
Under the guidelines of the program, qualified beneficiaries should be bonafide residents of the municipality; no financial assistance received from any government agency for the same purpose; must be operating legitimately and is significantly affected by the declaration of community quarantine; no business violation recorded since January 1, 2019 to date and business has a total asset of P500,000 and below.
Further, qualified beneficiaries are mandated to include in their application fully 2 copies of accomplished application form; photo copy of business permit for the period 2020; barangay certificate of residency with an indication that as per records of the barangay, the applicant has not received any financial support from any government agency and that the bearer is qualified to receive livelihood assistance; photo copy of government issued identification card and business name registration from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) if any.
The beneficiaries are advised to accomplish and submit the same with attached documentary requirements at the tourism office on or before September 25, 2020.
The submitted requirements will be subjected to proper evaluation followed by an interview of qualified applicants through phone call or face to face if necessary.
The concerned offices will then make the recommendation to the mayor for approval of the desired assistance while the site and business ocular inspection and validation will follow depending on the prescribed schedule of the inspectors.
The local government will eventually authorize the release of the assistance, P5,000, to all qualified beneficiaries by October 15, 2020.
Salda appealed to the beneficiaries to understand the limited financial assistance that will be provided them because the local government’s resources had also been significantly affected by the implementation of the community quarantine. By Hent