Former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano’s Sari-Saring Pag-asa program returned to Cebu, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental on Saturday to bring hope to sari-sari store vendors in these provinces.
A total of 60 pre-selected beneficiaries from Toledo City in Cebu, San Carlos City in Negros Occidental, and Barotac Buevo in Iloilo received financial assistance from the program, while 40 commenters were selected from the program’s Facebook livestream on October 30, 2021.
Toledo City, Cebu administrator Maedella Tacandong stressed the need for pandemic-stricken sari-sari store owners to be provided immediate support.
“The pandemic has affected so much of our sari-sari store owners, wherein they had a hard time looking for some money to again open their sari-sari stores,” she said.
For his part, Iloilo 4th District Rep. Braeden John Biron thanked his colleague for believing in the potential of the country’s rural municipalities and their small business owners.
“The backbone of any town or municipality is really mga small and medium sized enterprises,” he said.
Mayor Bryan Paul Biron of Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo lauded the program for providing much-needed support for their town’s sari-sari store vendors.
“With the ever effective Sari-Saring Pag-asa program, this financial assistance will be used as an additional capital to and for sari-sari stores for their continued operations in the midst of their struggles to overcome this pandemic,” he said.
Mayor Renato Gustillo of San Carlos City, Negros Occidental also thanked Cayetano and his team for bringing the Sari-Saring Pag-asa program to their city.
The Sari-saring Pag-asa program aims to distribute P3,500 each to pandemic-stricken sari-sari store owners as supplemental capital for their businesses.
The program’s mantra is encapsulated in four action points for sari-sari store owners: Budget, Engganyo, Save, and Tiyaga or BEST.
Moreover, the initiative also offers a template budget plan for beneficiaries so that they can use their cash aid for improving their small businesses and securing their daily needs.
To date, the initiative has reached nearly 5,000 beneficiaries nationwide.
