Around 11,000 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries across the CALABARZON region are provided with capital assistance for their various micro-enterprise ventures from January to August 2015. These beneficiaries received the said assistance through the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Depending on the beneficiaries’ livelihood projects, they are provided capital assistance amounting from PhP5,000 to PhP10,000 each. Micro-enterprises of the said beneficiaries include trade and commerce, food processing and livestock raising among others.

According to DSWD Field Office IV-A Regional Director Leticia T. Diokno, the livelihood support of DSWD through the SLP is the Department’s way of helping the beneficiaries to have a stable income for their family and improve their current living condition.

The SLP is a core social protection program implemented by the DSWD alongside the Pantawid Pamilya program to sustain the gains of the Pantawid Pamilya and help the beneficiaries improve their lives even when they no longer receive cash grants from the program.

The SLP capacitates beneficiaries through various skills training for either micro-enterprise development or employment facilitation.

To date, the DSWD has provided a total of PhP118.55 Million to the beneficiaries across the five provinces of CALABARZON. This includes PhP22.20 Million in Cavite, PhP12.93 Million in Laguna, PhP15.6 Million in Batangas, PhP44.20 Million in Rizal and PhP23.62 Million in Quezon.

Catherine de Ocampo, an SLP beneficiary from Lipa City in Batangas Province, said that the capital assistance for their businesses will be of great help to sustain the needs of their family, especially for the educational needs of their children.

“Dati, naglalako lang po ako ng panghimagas. Ngayon, ako na mismo ang magtatayo ng sarili kong negosyo para buo kong mapapakinabangan ang kita na makukuha ko,” said de Ocampo.

Aside from the said number of beneficiaries, there are still about 19,000 beneficiaries who will be provided with capital assistance for their livelihood projects upon completion of various skills training activities until December this year.

The SLP is currently being implemented in nine cities and 47 municipalities in the CALABARZON Region.# with reports from DKTanedo