GROCERY LIST. Residents in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte on Monday list down the list of grocery items they intend to buy as they take line up to buy from the Kadiwa Express rolling store. The Kadiwa Express is being run by employees of the provincial government of Ilocos Norte to sell basic commodities, including local fruits and vegetables at discounted prices. (Photo courtesy of the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte)
LAOAG CITY – Hundreds of sari-sari store owners in the province started to line up at the provincial capitol on Monday to submit their credentials and become one of the beneficiaries of a cash and grocery aid courtesy of the Ilocos Norte government.
To assist thousands of small businesses that closed down during the enhanced community quarantine, the provincial government of Ilocos Norte through the Small and Medium Enterprises Office (SMEO) is giving at least PHP2,000 worth of grocery items which they can use or sell, and a PHP3,000 cash recovery assistance.
Each beneficiary is also entitled to buy PHP5,000 worth of grocery items from the provincial government’s Kadiwa Express rolling store with a 10-percent discount.
“As approved by the governor, our sari-sari store owners will be given assistance and this will be in kind,” said Cipriano Martinez, head of the Provincial Employment Group of the Ilocos Norte government. He said they are eyeing to provide assistance to some 5,000 small sari-sari store owners in the province.
To qualify for the program, a small store owner operating on a capital of not more than PHP50,000 may just submit its business permit issued by the Department of Trade and Industry to the SMEO.
To date, the Kadiwa Express, which is run by employees of the provincial government, is being rolled out in remote areas of the province to sell basic commodities like canned goods and noodles as well as local fruits and vegetables at prices lower than the prevailing market rates in the city.
The rolling store has scheduled visits to the different cities and municipalities of the province.
“We thank the government for this kind of help. It’s really difficult to keep the business running during this crisis,” said Jayven Gaoiran, a sari-sari store owner in Barangay Bayog, Burgos, Ilocos Norte. (PNA)
