The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Antique provincial office is set to distribute 250 sari-sari or neighborhood variety store packages to barangay micro-entrepreneurs affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Arnel Oliveros, DTI Antique in-charge of the Livelihood Seeding Program-Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay (LSP-NSB), said the sari-sari store packages worth PHP6,000 each will be given to micro-entrepreneurs in the fourth to fifth class municipalities.

“The beneficiaries had been identified by the barangay captains and officials to be existing sari-sari store owners who had been affected by the Covid-19 for their recovery,” he said in an interview Monday.

Together with the supplier, the DTI personnel will deliver the packages to identified beneficiaries in the last week of August.

The beneficiaries are from towns of Anini-y with 27; Belison, 19; Laua-an, 56; Tibiao, 34; Sebaste, 18; Pandan, 62; and Libertad, 34.

The municipalities of Barbaza, Valderrama, and Tobias Frontier are yet to submit their beneficiaries.

“Prior to the giving of the livelihood packages, the DTI Antique provincial office also conducted face-to-face and online orientations among the beneficiary micro-entrepreneurs together with their barangay officials,” he said.

Oliveros said the orientations that were conducted discussed basic entrepreneurship, financial literacy, consumer rights and responsibilities, and DTI programs and services.

“The orientations were conducted so that the micro-entrepreneurs would become resilient and know what to do as they recover due to the effect of the Covid-19,” he said.

Barangay officials also joined during the orientation so they could also assist the micro- entrepreneurs in their operations in their locality.

Last year, the DTI extended assistance to 450 sari-sari stories from fourth to fifth class towns. (PNA)