LIVELIHOOD AID. A total of 27 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) wait to receive their livelihood assistance at the Antique capitol lobby on Tuesday, July 21, 2020. The Antique provincial government grants PHP10,000 to each OFW who opts to stay in the province to help them provide for their family by starting their own business. (PNA photo by Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – A total of 27 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) each received PHP10,000 in livelihood assistance from the Antique provincial government on July 21.
The distribution at the capitol lobby here was led by Governor Rhodora Cadiao, said Provincial Development Officer III Guilly Clemente.
In an interview Wednesday, Clemente said the beneficiaries came home before the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) community quarantine and have opted to remain in Antique.
“The OFWs who were recipients intended to use their assistance to start up their sari-sari stores,” Clemente added.
Each of the OFWs, prior to receiving the livelihood assistance, had to attend a seminar by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Antique provincial office where they were taught about making a business plan.
“The business plan is one of the requirements for them to receive the assistance,” Clemente said.
He said the Provincial Planning and Development Office, particularly the OFW Desk, also did a background check on the applicants.
The beneficiaries, he added, are not required to pay back the amount given to them.
“We are just appealing to the OFWs to really make their livelihood sustainable so that even if they no longer work abroad they would still have a source of living in Antique,” Clemente said.
Last March 4, the provincial government also released a PHP10,000-livelihood assistance to each of 10 OFWs, who are currently engaged in sari-sari store business in their respective municipalities.
The Antique provincial government has started to give aid to OFWs who opt to remain in the country since 2016. (PNA)
