KADIWA IN CEBU. A buyer of the "Kadiwa ng Pangulo" rice pays PHP25 per kilo during the caravan of services of the Cebu provincial government in Alcoy town, south of Cebu province, in this undated photo. DSWD-7 chief Shalaine Marie Lucero said local entrepreneurs who joined the caravan of services have received livelihood assistance grants from the government. (Photo courtesy of Cebu Capitol PIO)
CEBU CITY – Local entrepreneurs who joined the ‘Kadiwa ng Pangulo’ program during the provincial government’s caravan of services have received financial aid from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
DSWD regional director Shalaine Marie Lucero on Tuesday said local entrepreneurs have availed of the agency’s expanded program to help sustain President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s program to make locally produced agricultural products available to the public at a cheaper price.
“DSWD has a separate program for our local entrepreneurs. We provided them with a livelihood assistance grant of PHP10,000 to PHP15,000, depending on the nature of their business,” Lucero told the Philippine News Agency.
Based on the figures from the Cebu provincial government’s public information office, there were 30 to 35 local entrepreneurs who enlisted for the Kadiwa ng Pangulo pop-up stores during the caravan of services.
The partner beneficiaries of the Sustainable Livelihood Program of the DSWD and the Department of Agriculture were active in establishing Kadiwa pop-up stores during the caravan of services organized by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.
In these Kadiwa stores, the National Food Authority offered cheaper rice to the public, which was limited to five kilos per purchase.
With the financial grant, the local entrepreneurs who are farmers and fisherfolk from neighboring towns would get to sell their produce straight to the consumers, without the intervention of middlemen.
Jerry Bihay, one of the livelihood assistance grantees of the program, is thankful that he became one of the recipients of DSWD’s expanded Kadiwa program intended for local entrepreneurs.
“Makatapok jud sa tawo tungod kay maka avail man sa serbisyo, kami usab manindahay, mokita sad kay daghan man tawo, unta pirmehon (People would gather as they can avail of the services, and that we can also benefit from it through our sales. We hope the program will be done regularly),” Bihay said.
The beneficiaries are from the towns of Alcoy, Cordova, Sibonga, Ronda, Asturias, Carmen, Tabuelan, Pilar, San Francisco, and Madridejos. (PNA)
