ORMOC CITY- In an effort to assist in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the lives and livelihood of the victims of supertyphoon Yolanda, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano personally turned over funds to the Ormoc City Sidewalk Vendors Association and Ormoc Textile Clothing and Footwear makers (TCF) to bankroll a micro financing program that will offer small loans to members at very low interest and easy payment schemes.
Sen. Cayetano met with sidewalk vendors and TCF members in Ormoc on July 14 and donated a total of P150,000 to both groups to aid them in recovering from the devastations caused by Yolanda last year and discourage them from borrowing money from loan sharks that charge high interest rates.
Dubbed as the “Kontra 5-6 Program,” the project in part breathes life to the promises made by the Cayetano during his 2013 reelection campaign, where he launched the Presyo, Trabaho,Kita, (PTK) platform aimed at promoting projects that lower the prices of goods, create more jobs, and increase people’s income.
The micro financing mechanism allows members of cooperatives, entrepreneur groups and organizations wider access to capital that they can use to improve their livelihood and increase their income. “I am aware of the public clamor to help the victims of typhoon Yolanda in regaining their sources of livelihood. I’ve seen firsthand that we need more than just relief, we need rehabilitation. The people of Leyte need assistance in order to rebuild their lives,” the senator said.
“Providing capital to those affected by last year’s disaster will equip them with means to start their livelihood again instead of relying on relief efforts from government and other organizations,” he added. Apart from the vendors’ association in Ormoc, Cayetano also turned over funds to two irrigator groups in the municipality of Palompon and to an association of farmers in Isabel to assist them in their post-disaster recovery.
The Palompon Irrigators Association Inc., with over 200 members from barangays Sabang, San Juan and San Isidro received P50,000 while the Mataca Irrigation Association, also with 200 members from barangays Magsayasay, Tabunok and Congmoya, received the same amount of P50,000.
The said funds are expected to be used for the irrigation rehabilitation of elevated barangays in the province and for resolving the problem on pest infestation in several rice farms. Around 6,000 sweet potato producers in the municipality of Isabel also received P100,000 worth of rehabilitation assistance through the PTK project.(JOEY A. GABIETA)
