MATI CITY, DAVAO ORIENTAL – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the province of Davao Oriental has continued with its commitment to further promote entrepreneurship, especially among the vulnerable sectors.
The office has been actively implementing various initiatives and interventions to develop more entrepreneurs in the countryside, including those in the hinterlands. These range from providing livelihood kits to the conduct of relevant training programs and business consultancy. Several former rebels, indigenous peoples (IPs), and farmers are the newest beneficiaries of DTI’s continued support to entrepreneurship.
Recently, the office of Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” T. Go initiated an activity wherein government agencies converged to extend some help. Together with the Provincial Government of Davao Oriental, Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), distribution of assistance was conducted as part of the national government’s whole-of-nation approach to end the local communist armed conflict.
“During the two-day activity in the barangay of Dawan in Mati City and in Salingcomot in Baganga, the former rebels, IPs, and farmers were given business consultancy, including the benefits they can get once they start their own business. And we’re glad that they really decided to register their business with us. By getting their business name certificate from DTI, they have already begun their journey as entrepreneurs,” DTI-Davao Oriental OIC-Provincial Director Sylvia D. Ordiz said, adding that these 20 new business name registrants from the vulnerable sectors will use part of the cash aids they received from DSWD and DOLE to build a livelihood for their respective families.
In the meantime, Trade Assistant Secretary Reveree Niño C. Contreras and DTI-Davao Oriental’s Business Development Unit head Domingo S. Cruz Jr. did profiling and assessment of the qualified beneficiaries for the agency’s Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa (PPG) program. The Department also pledged to provide livelihood training and entrepreneurial seminars to the beneficiaries as follow-up support.
This group will be the first set of beneficiaries of DTI-Davao Oriental’s PPG implementation for this year. In 2020, the office recorded a total of 436 beneficiaries under the said program.
“Once the fund is available, we will release a livelihood kit to each of the 20 beneficiaries for them to augment their capital,” Ordiz noted. ♦
Date of Release: 14 June 2021