Former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano led the distribution of financial assistance to sari-sari store owners in Camarines Sur on Sunday, November 7, 2021.
A total of 300 beneficiaries from the towns of Baao, Bato, Buhi, Milaor, and Pili received cash aid from Cayetano’s Sari-Saring Pag-asa program.
“Kayo po na mga meron na pong mga paninda, marami po ang naubos ang paninda because of the pandemic o kaya may nangutang at ‘di pa nagbabayad. So today, magbibigay po kami ng P3,500,” Cayetano said during a short program at the Salvacion Evacuation Center in Baao.
(For those of you with sari-sari stores, you lost a lot of your goods because of the pandemic or some of your customers did not pay you back. So today, we are distributing P3,500 in cash aid.)
Cayetano’s wife Taguig 2nd District Rep. Lani Cayetano, his close ally Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte, Camarines Sur Governor Miguel Luis “Migz” Villafuerte, and Camarines Sur Provincial Administrator Luis Villafuerte joined him in all the events.
In his speech in Pili, Cayetano said the program is also aimed at prioritizing sari-sari store owners who are a source of help for their neighbor in hopes of finding a way to recover from the pandemic.
“Ang napag-usapan namin nina LRay, Gov. Migz, at Luigi na kung magtutulong-tulong — hindi naman namin mabibigyan ng food packs lahat — pero kung mabubuhay lahat ng maliliit na negosyo, at kayo nang bahala tumulong sa inyong mga kapitbahay, eh baka sakaling makaahon tayo sa pandemic na ito,” Cayetano said.
(LRay, Governor Migz, Luigi, and I talked about how working together to keep all small businesses who help their neighbors afloat might be our chance to recover from the pandemic.)
Citing his affinity for the Bicol region, the former Speaker vowed to return to Camarines Sur to provide assistance to those badly affected by the pandemic.
“Gusto ko lang po magcommit sa inyong mga Bikolano, sa mga taga-Camarines Sur, babalik at babalik kami,” he said.
(I would like to commit to you, Bicolanos, especially those from Camarines Sur, we will always return here.)
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.
The initiative also offers a template budget plan for beneficiaries so they can use their cash aid to improve their small businesses and secure their daily needs.
To date, the initiative has reached over 5,000 beneficiaries nationwide.
