New program to help urban poor launched

CEBU, Philippines — A program created to help the urban poor of Cebu City was launched by the Department of Social Welfare and Development with Cebu City government yesterday.

In the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) beneficiaries will receive P10,000 each. According to Department of Social Welfare and Services chairwoman and former city councilor Lea Japson, half of the amount is intended for association businesses.

Every recipient of the program belongs to an association. Japson said DSWD is employing this scheme in order to ensure that their livelihood will be successful.

Records of the DSWS show there are almost 70,000 qualified beneficiaries in the city. Yesterday afternoon at least 1,235 beneficiaries from Barangay Mambaling became the first batch to receive aid from the program.

Japson said Barangay Mambaling was chosen after it complied with the needed requirements and submitted the needed documents on time.

These beneficiaries have undergone interviews and orientation, among others. Last September, the city government started to accept applicants for this program after DSWD set aside more than P700 million.

“Kinahanglan gamay ra ang income, below P60,000 a year or wala’y income, kinahanglan pobre g’yud, and kinahanglan wala ka-avail og other livelihood program through DSWD,” Japson said.

“Para nako kung ma-sustain ang livelihood murag sa city nga daghan og beneficiaries, dili na ingon ana kalisod ang mga tao ba,” Japson added.

DSWD, with the help of DSWS, will monitor the beneficiaries to check if the money was indeed used for their livelihood.

During the press conference yesterday, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said the city government is helping DSWD deliver the said program to the urban poor.

He said when they started screening applicants he did not announce the program publicly, saying Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino would try to block it.

“I couldn’t tell the other cities of this program because I didn’t want to, because Michael Dino will try to block it. Now, we can announce it, the OPAV is incompetent,” Osmeña said.

The mayor said the city government works silently on this program for it to be successful.

“We work silently on this, each one attends a three-day seminar. This is not the project of the city this is a program of DSWD. But they don’t know how to mobilize, that is why we are helping them,” Osmeña added.

Evelyn Debalucos, 47, a resident of Alaska, Mambaling, is among the beneficiaries of SLP. She said she is grateful that this program was offered to them.

“Nalipay ko kay makadagdag sa puhonan kay ang pagpaninda ra ang among gisaligan sa adlaw-adlaw nga panginahanglanon,” she said.

Debalucos raised her five children through selling goods in front of their house in Alaska, Mambaling. (FREEMAN)