LIVELIHOOD AID. Residents of Ayungon town, Negros Oriental province line up to receive livelihood kits from the Department of Trade and Industry on Friday (Nov. 18, 2022). The beneficiaries were among those affected by Typhoon Odette in December 2021. (Photo courtesy of DTI-Negros Oriental)
DUMAGUETE CITY – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Negros Oriental has released more than PHP2.5 million in livelihood kits to Typhoon Odette victims in the province following the receipt of additional funds from its regional office.
DTI-Negros Oriental provincial director Nimfa Virtucio on Friday told the Philippine News Agency in an interview that the latest to receive the livelihood assistance are beneficiaries from Ayungon town.
“Distribution of livelihood kits of PHP7,500 each is currently ongoing in Ayungon today but we have already given the same to other beneficiaries in other towns earlier this month,” Virtucio said in mixed English and Cebuano.
The assistance is handed out to the beneficiaries through the agency’s Livelihood Seeding Program which has two components -- Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay (NSB) and Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa (PPG).
Virtucio said these beneficiaries were already profiled last March but the provincial DTI office ran out of funds so they were unable to receive the livelihood kits like those that were given to other typhoon victims earlier.
“Fortunately, the DTI Region 7 office had excess funds so we requested additional allocation for these people that were affected by typhoon Odette,” she said.
The beneficiaries of livelihood kits this November are those in La Libertad (65); Jimalalud (45); Bindoy (22); Tayasan (43); and Ayungon (180), Jade Krystle Bato, DTI-Negros Oriental information officer, said.
She said each livelihood kit normally costs PHP8,000 but to ensure that all those profiled will be given the assistance, the DTI here had to lower it to PHP7,500 each.
The additional funding totaled PHP2.580 million, she added. (PNA)
