Tears of gratitude and ear-to-ear smiles of the beneficiaries brightened the disbursing officers of the DSWD Sustainable Livelihood Program’s day during the 2-day simultaneous payout in the province of Bohol.

The Sustainable Livelihood Program of DSWD-7 had its payout for the Livelihood Settlement Grant in the province of Bohol last August 17-18, 2022. A total of 1,906 beneficiaries received 15,000 cash each for families to recover their losses during the onslaught of typhoon Odette that severely hit the province last December. A total of Php 28,590,00 was disbursed in the province.

“Nagpasalamat gyud ko aning ayuda. Ang among tindahan naguba gyud pag bagyong Odette. Wala gyud ko magtuo nga naa gyud ni, kay karon pa gyud ko nakadawat og ingon ani kadako nga kanitdad sa tibuok nakong kinabuhi (I am extremely thankful for this grant. My store was destroyed by Odette. I did not expect this to come true. I have not received this much in my whole life),” Mrs. Editha Gumop-as relays, trying to hold back the tears while counting the 15,000 cash.

Editha, a 67-year-old owner of a sari-sari store in Alicia, Bohol, describes her joy at learning that she was one of the recipients. “The field officer who validated us clarified that it is not a loan; rather, it is a grant we must use to liquidate and expand our small business during the validation. During the validation, we had a misunderstanding with my husband because he thought it was a loan,” Editha shares in the dialect.

She added that after learning her husband understood the program’s objective and was thankful for the government’s action to provide financial assistance to their business affected by the typhoon. The Php 15,000 cash would go a long way for their small enterprise.

Lourdes Canastra, a widow from Talibon, Bohol, could not hold back her tears when she returned to the venue to sell her products after receiving the assistance. She shares that she did not expect this to come true. “I struggled daily, selling rice cakes in the morning at the hospital and banana cue in the afternoon in neighboring areas. I could not thank you enough for this help. ” She added that she was grateful for the program. She said, “With this grant, I will be able to sell more.”

Lourdes has been an ambulant vendor for years, and this is her way of helping her husband, but when he passed away a year ago, she needed to be strong for her small family. Making desserts is her way of feeding her family, but it was put on hold when Typhoon Odette hit. The capital for making sweets was used up for their family’s needs. The LSG brings her hope.

The livelihood settlement grant is for the beneficiaries affected by typhoon Odette. The beneficiaries were identified first by the Local Government Unit and were endorsed to the DSWD-7 for name-matching based on the Listahanan database. The Project Development Officers will validate the listed beneficiaries and assess if they qualify as a grantee for the Livelihood Settlement Grant.

Editha and Lourdes are just two of the 1,906 beneficiaries who openly expressed their gratitude and hope that the government will continue to care for the needs of the vulnerable sector like them.

The payout in the Province of Bohol covers Tagbilaran City and the 45 municipalities, namely: Albuquerque Alicia, Anda, Antequera, Baclayon, Balilihan, Batuan, Bien Unido, Bilar, Buenavista, Calape, Candijay, Carmen, Catigbian, Clarin, Corella, Cortes, Dagohoy, Danao, Dauis, Duero, Garcia Hernandez, Getafe, Guindulman, Jagna, Lila, Loay, Loay, Loay, Loboc, Loon, Mabini, Maribojoc, Panglao, Pilar, Pres. Carlos P. Garcia, Sagbayan, San Isidro, San Isidro, San Isidro, San Isidro, San Isidro, San Isidro, San Miguel, Sierra Bullones, Sikatuna, Tagbilaran, Talibon,Trinidad, Ubay, and Valencia. ###

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