ILOILO CITY (PIA) — The ambulant vendors, who once patrolled the streets on foot to sell their goods, are now comfortably riding Negosyo sa Kariton, or “Nego-Karts,” to earn a living after receiving assistance from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Western Visayas.
DOLE Western Visayas partnered with the Iloilo City government in providing 133 Nego-Karts under the Negosyo sa Kariton project. The initiative is intended to protect the ambulant vendors from the elements and provide greater mobility.
Apart from the Nego-Karts, 100 women beneficiaries also received supplies for sari-sari stores.
The livelihood assistance, amounting to 6.8 million pesos, aimed to uplift the economic condition of the beneficiaries, who were women, people with disabilities, senior citizens and ambulant vendors.
During the turnover ceremony, Joselito G. Dela Banda, head of the DOLE Iloilo Field Office, delivered the message of DOLE Director Sixto T. Rodriguez Jr., which centered on fighting poverty through livelihood.
Rodriguez stressed the importance of women’s empowerment and equality.
The livelihood assistance, he said, was part of the labor department’s advocacy of empowering women as it joined in the National Women’s Month celebration last March. (AAL/AGP with reports from DOLE Western Visayas)
