Livelihood grants worth over P1.1 million were granted to a worker’s association and four individuals in Puerto Princesa City by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) as Accredited Co-Partners (ACOPs).
The awarding happened on January 19 in Brgy. Maunlad through DOLE’s field office in Palawan.
The 51-member Maunlad Mushroom Producers Association received P997,144 for the equipment and machinery required for their Mushroom Production and Processing project.
The association aims to provide and create more employment opportunities for its members, as well as for indirect beneficiaries, and to supply the market with mushrooms of the highest possible quality, the DOLE said.
The four individual grantees, on the other hand, received a grant amounting to P30,000 each for their projects.
Renante Gadiano will use the grant to enhance his current sari-sari store business where he plans to add selling frozen goods; Melanie Bacosa, a solo parent and a PWD, will also enhance her sari-sari store, which has been operating in her neighborhood for three years; Rosalito Mirasol, a beneficiary of Balik Probinsya Bagong Pag-asa (BP2) program, will use the grant to start his fried chicken business; and the enhancement of Ino’s Kitchennette owned by Emil T. Aquino, a restaurant that serves different sizzling and silog meals.
DOLE Palawan provincial director Philip D. Ruga, Puerto Princesa City PESO manager Demetrio “Bong” Lopez, and Brgy. Maunlad captain Alfredo Mondragon Jr. delivered their messages to the beneficiaries and encouraged them to run their respective businesses properly and judiciously so that direct and indirect beneficiaries can benefit from government assistance, thus improving their lives.
The DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) or Kabuhayan Program of the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC), supports the government’s efforts for poverty reduction and inclusive development through entrepreneurship and community enterprise.
