Five organizations in Cebu each received a livelihood grant amounting to P300,000 under the Kadiwa ng Pangulo from the Department of Labor and Employment. (PIA7)
For several years, 61-year-old Jackie Jumao-as freelanced as an aerobics instructor in Cordova town in Cebu.
However, as people’s preference for personal fitness shifted to gym workouts, Jumao-as eventually lost her income.
This led her to join the Women’s Association of Poblacion of Cordova.
Membership in the women’s group opened doors for Jumao-as after their association benefited from livelihood grants provided by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) under the Kadiwa ng Pangulo program.
“Nakatabang sa mga women sa Cordova. Naa mi source of benefit or income (The livelihood grant helped the women in Cordova. We now have a source of benefit or income),” Jumao-as said.
The women’s group in Cordova was among five organizations that received the Kadiwa livelihood package from DOLE during the recent Labor Day celebration in Cebu.
The other organizations that benefited from the Kadiwa program are: Cambinocot Multi-purpose Cooperative, Royal Plant Workers Union, Philippine Mining Service Corporation Worker’s Union, and Atlas Fertilizer Corporation Worker’s Union.
DOLE distributed a total of 1.5 million pesos in livelihood assistance in the form of agricultural goods and equipment worth 300,000 pesos for each organization.
According to Maria Teresa Tanquiamco, officer-in-charge of the DOLE Cebu Provincial Field Office, each identified organization received a livelihood package comprising rice and vegetables, a chiller, a pushcart, and a weighing scale.
“Ang Kadiwa man gud is really intended to sell agricultural products like mga utanon, rice, ingon ana (Kadiwa is really intended for the sale of agricultural products including vegetables and rice),” Tanquiamco said.
The organizations will be monitored on their progress, and interventions will be provided if necessary.
“If there is really a need kay ganahan man gyud ta nga ma-improve sila, all the more na tagaan nato sila. Mas modako ilang kita, but dili na gyud ingon nga sila na gyud kay naa pa ma’y lain uban na organizations nga need pud nga tabangan (If there is really a need because we want them to improve, we will definitely help them more. Their income will increase, but it doesn’t mean they are the only ones because there are other organizations that also need help),” Tanquiamco said.
She added that the Kadiwa program is also open to other organizations such as labor union groups.
“We also identify kadtong mga unions, but this is not for the unions to work on but for the families, mobaligya ilang mga pamilya… aduna sila’y alternative income (We also identify labor union groups, but this is not for the unions to work on but for their families, and their families will sell… they have an alternative income),” Tanquiamco said.
The Kadiwa ng Pangulo is part of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda, which aims to ensure food security, promote agricultural productivity, and accelerate poverty reduction by supporting the produce of local farmers.
The program began as an initiative of the Department of Agriculture to link local agri-food producers and the public and enhance food mobilization and access to affordable, safe, and secure food.
DOLE is one of the government agencies involved in the KNP convergence through a memorandum of agreement signed on July 17, 2023.
For Jumao-as, the Kadiwa ng Pangulo program has significantly helped create a livelihood opportunity for their women’s association.
“Personally, malipayon mi kay nakasalmot mi… nakita nako, ingon ani diay ka nindot ang Kadiwa ng Pangulo. Dako gyud ni og ikatabang kay mas ubos ang presyo sa mga produkto diri (Personally, we are happy because we were able to participate (in this program). I see how effective the Kadiwa ng Pangulo is. It really helps a lot because the prices of products here are lower),” Jumao-as said. (JJT/PIA7)
