In the second round of assistance for residents in the town of Santa Monica Surigao del Norte on Friday, under the Aid and Humanitarian Operations Nationwide (AHON) Convergence Program, the national government agencies focused on augmenting the livelihood opportunities of farmers and fisherfolk.
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said immediate action to address the needs of the Filipinos is a trademark of the Duterte administration.
“Sa administrasyon ni Duterte aksyon agad. Hindi puro salita may ginagawa agad (Under the Duterte administration we immediately take action. It is not lip service, we really do something),” he said in a media release.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) brought the Livelihood Seeding Program – Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa (LSP-PBG), a livelihood seeding and entrepreneurship development program aimed at supporting micro-enterprises affected by calamities and emergencies like the Covid-19 pandemic.
The agency has allocated PHP500,000 for the municipality where eligible beneficiaries can receive assistance of up to PHP10,000. The same assistance was also offered to other municipalities visited by the representatives of the national government agencies this week, including Pilar, General Luna, Dapa, and San Isidro.
DTI is currently validating the list of beneficiaries that can receive aid from the program out of the 100 farmers and fisherfolk that were encouraged to venture into agribusiness during the turnover event.
“Maganda po ang hapon na ito, knowing na ang gobyerno natin, si Presidente Duterte hindi tayo pinabayaan sa gitna ng pandemya (It is indeed a good afternoon, knowing that our government, that President Duterte, looked after our welfare, in the midst of the pandemic),” DTI Assistant Secretary Reveree Niño C. Contreras said.
The Department of Agriculture (DA), on the other hand, allocated a financial grant under the Enhanced KADIWA ni Ani at Kita Financial Grant Assistance Program of the agency worth PHP1.1 million.
DA Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista also announced DA’s partnership with the local government of Santa Monica to establish a PHP14-million fish port that can be used by local fisherfolk.
She added that cold storage facilities can also be added there once it is finished.
“Yan po ang ating objective. Mapadali at gumanda ang kita ninyo sa pamamagitan ng [programa sa] agrikultura (That is our objective. To make it easy for you to earn and to improve your earnings through agricultural programs),” she said.
“Sisiguraduhin namin na makakarating sa inyo ang bawat programa na ipinaglaban sa Senado. Ito po ang pamahalaan na laging handang tumulong. Ito po ang pamahalaang bisyo ang magserbisyo (We will make sure that all the programs that we pushed for in the Senate reaches all of you),” she added. (PNA)
