ZAMBOANGA CITY—DTI Region 9 OIC-Regional Director Ceferino J. Rubio delightedly said earlier this week that Livelihood Seeding Program – Negosyo sa Barangay’s (LSP-NSB) funding amounts to P11,114,000.00 which will be used to provide a package of livelihood kits and business advisory assistance and services, amounting to at least P5,000 up to P8,000 to MSMEs affected by natural and human-induced calamities including health disasters. The LSP-NSB Guidelines was revised to align and make it more responsive to the government directives on the COVID-19 situation. The coverage of the program was expanded to give priority assistance to MSMEs affected by health disasters arising from epidemics and pandemics.
Rubio said that the DTI LSP-NSB has various areas of cooperation with the barangays and these include: a.) Improved Business Climate which capacitates barangay officials in facilitating business clearances; b.) Improved Access to Finance which orients the barangay officials with various existing financial services; c.) Enhanced Management and Labor Capacities which helps identify building needs of both entrepreneurs and workers; d.) Improved Access to Technology and Innovation which identifies and invite enablers on product development programs and technology transfer programs; e.) Improved Access to Market which facilitates participation of MSMEs to trade and online market places. Apart from these areas of cooperation between DTI and the barangays, Negosyo sa Barangay (NSB) proposed activities include: a.) High-Cost Activities which create NSB Office and shall serve as extension of Negosyo Centers, provision of MSME Livelihood Kit amounting to P5,000 to P 8,000.00 to eligible beneficiaries after participation in entrepreneurship sessions and submission of documents; b.) Minimum Cost Activities which create NSB Desk in the Barangay Town’s Hall that shall operate at least once a week and c.) Low Cost Activities which provides advocacy briefing session on MSMEs programs and services for at least 100 participants during the program launch and facilitation of applications for putting up a business.
Rubio further added that LSP-NSB Program in the region aims to cover barangays and benefit MSMEs with these timelines: 2020- two hundred (200) barangays, two thousand (2,000) participants and eight hundred ninety-two (892) livelihood kits. Apart from DTI, various organizations/agencies will also be tapped for the provision of technical expertise and may serve as resource persons in the delivery of services under the NSB Program. These are Department of Science and Technology (DOST, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), University of the Philippines-Institute for Small Scale Industries (UP-ISSI), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
According to Rubio, to date, DTI Region 9 has already covered this much: Zamboanga City-15 barangays, 140 participants, 75 livelihood kits; Zamboanga del Norte-11 municipalities, 73 barangays, 335 participants, 322 livelihood kits; Zamboanga del Sur- 18 municipalities, 76 barangays, 468 participants, 360 livelihood kits and Zamboanga Sibugay- 12 municipalities, 48 barangays, 205 participants, and 182 livelihood kits. These gains represent an accomplishment rate of 106% (212 of 200) for the target barangays, and 105% (939 of 892) for the livelihood kits. ARD Al-Zamir I. Lipae also urges all interested MSMEs to visit the nearest Negosyo Center or DTI Provincial Office in their area to inquire and avail the agency’s LSP-NSB. ♦
Date of Release: 24 June 2020