MAASIN CITY– Gerlie Roa, a resident of Barangay Laboon in Southern Leyte, is a testament to the positive impact of the Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa (PPG), a program under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The 37-year-old, who runs a small convenience store in her upland community, expressed her heartfelt gratitude for the grant she received through the program.
“This grant has been a huge help,” Roa shared. “Now, we have a more well-stocked store and can ensure we have enough food for our family.”
Roa’s experience highlights the program’s success in empowering small businesses and providing vital support to communities in Southern Leyte.
The PPG program provides livelihood kits and training to help entrepreneurs establish and grow their businesses, contributing to economic development and improving the lives of individuals like Roa.
“Yes, sir, this is a big help. At least we are assured of having food, the viands from the sales of the store,” Roa said in a vernacular.
In a phone interview with the Philippine Information Agency, Roa recalled that she has been operating her sari-sari store for about two years now.
Initially, customers would just pass by without noticing her business, but after receiving the PPG livelihood starter kits, her store transformed with a variety of products displayed.
“I am new to selling, and I have the requirements—registration and BIR. Before Typhoon Odette, or after Odette, I started selling, but it was small, just a few items, buyers just pass by, but now it has improved,” she said.
The improvement did not occur overnight; it all began with a seminar organized by DTI in collaboration with the barangay local government unit, in which Roa was one of those invited to join.
On September 13, 2024, coinciding with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s birthday, Roa received a livelihood kit at the provincial gym. The kit, valued at P10,000, included grocery items and basic consumer goods under the DTI’s PPG program.
The event was part of a nationwide initiative titled ‘Handog ng Pangulo: Serbisyong Sapat Para sa Lahat,’ in which the provincial DTI office joined along with several national agencies.
Roa was one of 35 local entrepreneurs from Maasin City and the neighboring town, Macrohon, selected as beneficiaries after meeting the required qualifications.
In addition to sari-sari store owners, various other livelihood kits were distributed, including fish retailing kits, bakeshop kits, boarding house/homestay kits, and eatery kits.
Before September concluded, 180 more business kits were distributed to other local government units across the province, as reported by the DTI’s provincial office on its social media page.
“The ‘Handog ng Pangulo: Serbisyong Sapat Para sa Lahat’ aims to bring government services closer to the people by introducing essential programs, offering assistance to kickstart livelihoods, and supporting Filipinos in their needs, especially in disaster-prone areas,” the DTI further said.
For Roa, a mother of three children, with her eldest child now 10 years old and the youngest, one year old, and whose husband works in Manila to support the family, that message really makes sense.
(MMP, PIA Southern Leyte, with reports from Wencel Marie Laroa, DTI Southern Leyte)
Return with benefits (First of two parts)
Unknown to many is the untold story that the famous return of American General Douglas Mac Arthur was more than a fulfillment of his promise to return to the Philippines. That historic trip was paid by the government of Philippines under President Manuel Luis Quezon. This information was researched by Atty. Vince M. Tañada, Filipino lawyer, actor, director, writer, and entrepreneur.
He is the president and founding artistic director of Philippine Stagers Foundation and owns the Philstagers Films. He is an alumnus of San Beda College where he finished his college and earned his law degree. He belongs to the Tañada clan of Philippine politics that produced former Senator Lorenzo Tañada, former Senator Wigberto “Bobby” Tañada, former Congressman Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III, among others.
In the original historical fiction, he developed the plot of the story around the main characters of brothers Nestor and Felipe Dimaculangan which featured the events during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines. The story depicted the main characters who were separated by the unfortunate events, their love interests, and part in serving the country during the years of 1941 to 1945. The story covered the purported liberation of the country between 1942 and 1945, when Imperial Japan occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during World War II. The invasion of the Philippines started on 8 December 1941, ten hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
It is apt to mention that during the Japanese occupation, Filipinos from various parts of the region mustered the courage to fight the cruel imperial army that rounded villages and killed innocent civilians, including women and children. Those who survived would tell gruesome stories of Filipinos being helplessly and mercilessly killed by the bayonet. In many areas, Filipino women were holed in Japanese camps and were raped to satisfy the lust and provide comfort to the soldiers. The tale of Filipino comfort women had been documented and are written in the annals of our country’s history.
In 1993, Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono publicly apologized for Japanese army’s behavior during World War II and reiterated the 2015 Deal to Compensate Comfort Women. It recognized the Japanese army’s coercive actions and its direct and indirect involvement in exploiting comfort women, reiterating its apologies for the suffering inflicted on Filipino “comfort women” during World War II. More than 1,000 women were abducted and coerced into sexual slavery by military personnel during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines from 1942 to 1945. Today, only 18 survivors remain alive.
During the Japanese occupation of the islands in World War II, there was an extensive Philippine resistance movement which opposed the Japanese and their collaborators with active underground and guerrilla activity that increased over the years.
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