Sixty-six people’s organizations (POs) in Davao de Oro province are recipients of PHP19.8 million worth of livelihood assistance from the national government.

In a statement Thursday, the provincial government said each association received PHP300,000 assistance that will be utilized as start-up capital for their livelihood project.

The checks were turned over Wednesday by representatives of the Davao de Oro province government, the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Davao Region (DSWD-11), the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity in Davao Region (OPAPRU-11).

The assistance came from the “Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of the national government, as funded by the Office of the President.

PAMANA aims to provide livelihood sources to all the communities once affected by armed conflict or insurgency.

In an interview, Leonora Ambas, 51, the president of the Kapatagan Pamana SLP Association, said the effort of the various agencies has definitely changed their lives for the better.

“We are now living peacefully and the communist rebels have returned to the folds of the government,” she said. (PNA)