Former House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and his allies in Congress on Tuesday reached out to sari-sari store owners in Vigan City (Ilocos Sur), Labrador (Pangasinan), and San Gabriel (La Union) through the Sari-saring Pag-asa program.
Seventy-five (75) new beneficiaries received P3,500 in cash aid each from the group, 45 of whom were pre-selected through the assistance of the local government units. The other 30 beneficiaries were chosen during the previous Facebook livestream of the program.
Barangay Chairperson Jorge Jallorina of Barangay San Jose, Labrador said the cash aid they received from Cayetano is a first in their community in his years of service.
“Kayo po y’ung kauna-unahan sa akin pong history ng paglilingkod ko po ay galing pong national ang aming tulong ngayon na dumating po sa araw na ito,” Jallorina said.
(In my years of service, you are the first national government official to give assistance such as this to us.)
The local government officials of the receiving localities also thanked Cayetano on behalf of the beneficiaries.
“Ang first district of Ilocos Sur ay malaki ang pasasalamat sa iyo sa dinala mong tulong para sa Sari-saring Pag-asa dito sa distrito namin. Tuwang tuwa po y’ung mga nabigyan niyo ng tulong, lalong lalo na y’ung mga sari-sari store owners natin and lahat po ng sepulturero natin,” Ilocos Sur 1st District Rep. Deogracias Victor “DV” Savellano said.
(The first district of Ilocos Sur is grateful for the help you brought through the Sari-saring Pag-asa program. The beneficiaries, especially the sari-sari store owners and gravediggers are very happy with what they received.)
“Sana ‘wag po kayong huminto sa pagtulong sa nakakarami lalo na ngayon sa panahon ng pandemic,” Pangasinan 2nd District Rep. Jumel Anthony Espino added.
(We hope you do not stop helping, especially during the pandemic.)
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.
