To make them more sustainable
Jericho ‘Icot’ Petilla
TACLOBAN CITY – Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho ‘Icot’ Petilla has urged national government agencies to allocate more budget for livelihood programs rather than relying solely on financial assistance or “ayuda” to ensure that government support is more sustainable.
He made this appeal during the ‘Handog ng Pangulo: Serbisyong Tapat Para sa Lahat’ event held at the Leyte Academic Center on Friday, September 13.
The event was attended by more than 2,700 residents from various towns in Leyte province, including Tacloban City.
Among the beneficiaries were 2,000 workers from Palo and Tanauan who are part of the TUPAD (Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers) program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
While Gov.Petilla acknowledged the value of financial assistance, he stressed that it does not provide a long-term solution, as those who receive ayuda tend to rely on it and wait for more once the money runs out.
“This is an ongoing program, but what we are requesting from DOLE is to divert more funds towards livelihood programs rather than distributing financial aid. People need the ayuda, but the same problem will persist month after month,” the governor stressed.
He added, “If we focus on livelihood, even if only 10% of the beneficiaries succeed, that 10% would no longer need further assistance.”
Aside from the 2,000 TUPAD beneficiaries, the event also provided aid to other sectors.
These included 500 farmers who received Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund-Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RCEF-RFFA) amounting to P5,000 each, 115 sari-sari store owners who received Livelihood Seeding Assistance from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), 117 college students who received training assistance from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and 10 business owners who received loan assistance from Small Business Corporation.
The Handog ng Pangulo: Serbisyong Tapat Para sa Lahat event also saw the participation of 20 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) supported by the DTI, along with two distributors.
Farmers and farmer associations took part in a mini-KADIWA fair, where they sold their products.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
