Capitol readies P336M assitance to LGUs, MSMEs

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu provincial government will be shelling out a total of P230 million in financial assistance to local government units and for the recovery of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

During the province 451st founding anniversary celebration on Thursday, August 6, 2020, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia announced that the offices of each of the 18 provincial board members will receive P5 million which will be disbursed as assistance for the recovery of the MSMEs in the districts that they represent.

Vice Governor Hilario Davide’s office will also receive P15 million for the same purpose.

“I ask you now, our 18 board members, to help me in reaching out to our micro and small enterprises as we will allocate P5 million per board member. We hope that that P5 million can be put to good news following the guidelines of the Department of Trade and Industry as regards the helping ad putting up of MSMEs,” Garcia said.

Garcia also asked the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) to come up with a set of mechanics for the MSMEs to avail of the assistance that will be patterned with the DTI’s program.

Meanwhile, Garcia also announced that each of its 44 towns and six component cities will receive a total of P2.5 million as financial assistance.

READ: Gwen reiterates administration’s thrust to ‘resuscitate’ Cebu’s economy

The amount includes P1 million for the purchase of vitamin supplements subject to the guidelines that will be issued by the Provincial Health Office. The supplements will be distributed to most, if not all of the residents of the LGU.

Garcia said the amount will serve as an augmentation to the LGUs’ budget.

Garcia also announced the allocation of P500,000 for the purchase of air purifiers and ultraviolet (UV) sterilization lamps for all government offices in the LGU, including the barangay centers.

Another P500,o00 is also allocated for each LGU to put up its own nursery for the cultivation, propagation, and eventual distribution of calamansi and turmeric.

Alongside the budget for the nursery is another P500,000 for the initiation of the Sugbusog program which encourages backyard gardening.

The Capitol earlier launched Sugbusog as a provincial tilt to encourage Cebuanos to plant vegetables on their backyards while stuck at home during the quarantine period.

“We have seen the positive impact of encouraging people to plant vegetables sa tagsa-tagsa nila ka panimalay. Niani na ang kadaghanan, di na kinahanglan mopalit og utanon,” Garcia said.

The 1,066 barangays of the province, on the other hand, will also receive P100,000 each for their own Sugbusog program implementation to encourage residents to engage in backyard gardening. / dcb