It was an affair to remember to all 300 beneficiaries who received Nego-Kart aka Negosyo sa Kariton from the Department of Labor and Employment XI at the Davao del Sur Coliseum on May 11, 2018. The DOLE Grant amounted to Three Million Fifteen Thousand (P3,015,000) Pesos only.
Recipients were four associations namely, Digos Public Market Ambulant Vegetables & Fruit Vendors Association, Guihing Ambulant Vendors Association, Bansalan Gulayan ng Bayan Association and Laminusa Muslim Vendors Association.
In his message DOLE XI Regional Director Raymundo G. Agravante said that the grant was in line with President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s mandate to fast track the assistance to all Filipinos especially the small entrepreneurs to augment their income, uplift their lives and contribute to economy.
Director Agravante further said that there are more projects submitted to DOLE XI for the constituents of Davao del Sur which may come in time after completing the needed documents from the beneficiaries’ end.
He further encouraged the NegoKart beneficiaries to keep the carts in good condition for these would help them in uplifting their lives, food on their tables and sending their children to schools.
In ending his message, Director Agravante stressed that the project was the brainchild of the DOLE Davao del Sur Field Office (DSFO) headed by Engr. Reynaldo Dennis V. Badilles, the Provincial Government of Davao del Sur through its Provincial PESO Office headed by PESO Manager Rolly M. Impas.
Interviewed by the media, OIC-Chief Paul V. Cruz of the DOLE XI’s Technical Support and Services Division (TSSD) said that the NegoKart Project has been given to all provinces in Region XI except for the new province of Davao Occidental but the one-time 300 carts was the biggest so far.
Mr. Cruz added that through the NegoKart Project a beneficiary in Padada, Davao del Sur won the Best DOLE-Assisted Livelihood Project in 2016 for the Individual Category in the person of Sheryl E. Monroid, and another beneficiary from Padada, Davao del Sur named Juditha Dela Torre won the 1st Place in the same contest in 2017 at the regional level and now vies for the award in the national level.
OIC-Chief Cruz ended the interview by announcing to the media that for an association to avail of the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP), the group would just visit the PESO in its locality.
By Gwargz P. Monreal, Project Documenter, TSSD, DOLE RO XI
