DSWD. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is launching its “new and improved” sustainable livelihood program (SLP), which promises to give financial aid and skills enhancement to eligible informal micro-enterprises over five years.
Under the SLP’s micro-enterprise development (MD) track, the DSWD will provide seed capital, training, and livelihood-building funds to micro-enterprises run by members of “poor, marginalized, vulnerable, and/or disadvantaged households” identified by the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction.
According to the agency, participants of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) will also be prioritized.
An initial grant of P15,000 to P20,000 will be given to qualified beneficiaries during SLP’s first year, the DSWD likewise said, adding that ventures that meet profit and employment indicators set by the agency will receive a second grant of P100,000 in the program’s third year, while a third grant of P250,000 will be given in the fifth year should the qualified beneficiaries meet sales and formalization goals.
But suppose the micro-enterprise fails to meet the DPWH’s indicators. In that case, it will not receive the second and third grants, Secretary Rex Gatchalian explained in an interview with media members on Friday.
Gatchalian also clarified that failed enterprises cannot reapply for the program “because that means they’re not sustainable.”
Meanwhile, vulnerable individuals who would instead be employed than manage a business will be given job assistance funds and training under the SLP’s employment facilitation track.
Gatchalian advises interested parties to visit any DSWD branch for orientation. The two SLP choices he suggested had a two-person household limit.
Major SLP partners of the DSWD include the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Cooperative Development Authority, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
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