In this undated photo provided by the Quezon City government, Mayor Joy Belmonte gives social welfare assistance to 657 indigent solo parents.
MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Monday stressed the importance of local government support to empower businesses and help improve the lives of entrepreneurs and their families.
Her pronouncements came as the city further increased its allocation to help local nano/micro-entrepreneurs and cooperatives that include overseas Filipino workers, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, youths, and solo parents.
In 2023, the local government allocated P285 million for various programs such as PangkabuhayanQC, QC Essentials, POP QC, Youth Entrepreneurship program, Digital Beauty Academy, Fresh Market, Small Income Generating Assistance (SIGA) or Tindahan in Joy.
“It is important that our QCitizens be given a chance to earn more money with our continuous support so they will be able to have better lives” said Belmonte. “While we improve the city’s business environment for investors, we must also continue to empower our citizens who wanted to engage in small business.”
In this undated photo provided by the Quezon City government, Mayor Joy Belmonte distributes cash assistance to 1,314 small business owners under the SIGA program.
In January, a series of cash distributions were conducted under PangkabuhayanQC to 675 approved applicants from Districts 1, 3, and 4; and another 600 from Districts 5 and 6.
Each beneficiary received capital assistance of P20,000 after finishing various training and seminars on how to run their businesses which offer school supplies, cooked food, tailoring services, dry goods, fresh fruit juices, soaps, street carts, crafted coffee drinks, food merchandise, and repair services, among others.
Business experts – Go Negosyo mentor Bong Magpayo, owner-franchiser of Sweet Corner Cart, Sumo Takoyaki, and 12C-4 Bread Station; and Go Negosyo mentor and president of AHEAD Learning Systems Rossana Llenado – gave the skills training to qualified recipients of the capital aid.
Belmonte personally handed out the money together with representatives from the QC Small Business and Cooperatives Development Promotions Office and partners Department of Trade and Industy-National Capital Region Office, Sarisuki, Entstack, Meralco, Tonik Digital Bank, and GCash.
“In a recent survey conducted on more than 2,000 PangkabuhayanQC recipients, 82 percent continue to grow their business,” the local chief executive said.
The local government said the fourth batch of Quezon City residents who passed the requirements to avail of the aid will be announced on its official Facebook page soon.
In this undated photo provided by the Quezon City government, Mayor Joy Belmonte hands out cash assistance to 675 recipients of PangkabuhayanQC package.
As for the city’s SIGA program, the local government said that 1,314 beneficiaries were given a livelihood aid of P5,000 each under the initiative. It added that its Sikap at Galing Pangkabuhayan (SIGAP) program granted funding to nine entrepreneur groups after undergoing skills training from the Social Services Development Department (SSDD).
SSDD also extended assistance to 657 indigent solo parents as more were given their “QC Solo Parent ID” which would allow them to get the law-sanctioned 20 percent discount in Quezon City restaurants.
Belmonte likewise recently launched the Start-Up QC program for qualified entrepreneurs on tech and non-tech enterprises.
“We will give equity-free financial grants of up to P1 million plus coaching and mentoring and linkages to partners and investors and the promotion of start-ups. We initially chose five and among them is WIKA, an app that helps people with hearing impairment in watching video, TV, and film,” she said.