Victims of the fire incidents in barangays Arkong Bato and Malinta received Livelihood Settlement Grant from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through the City Government of Valenzuela at the Valenzuela City People’s Park Amphitheater, November 10.

The Livelihood Settlement Grant (LSG) is part of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Sustainable Livelihood Program and aims to financially support the victims of different disasters across the country. A total amount of Php1,998,000 was released by the DSWD for the said livelihood grant. It is in accordance with DSWD’s Memorandum Circular No. 02, Series of 2021 which aims to uphold the department’s role in the provision of the Technical Assistance Resource Augmentation (TARA) to different Local Government Units (LGUs) during times of disaster.

A total of 119 beneficiaries, consisting of 107 victims from the Arkong Bato Fire, and 12 victims from the Malinta Fire were given a livelihood grant with the amount ranging from Php 15,000 to Php 20,000 depending on the damages they experienced. The grant aims to serve as a start-up capital to help them recover from the effects of the said fire incidents.

Beneficiaries of the program are selected based on the criteria that they have an existing business or livelihood before the disaster. They are also assessed if they have the capacity to initiate and sustain a profitable livelihood in the future, and should not have received any other livelihood grants from other agencies like the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) or the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Also present during the distribution of the livelihood grant were Valenzuela City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) Head, Ms. Dorothy Evangelista, Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) Regional Program Coordinator, Ms. Esperanza Mangoba, and SLP Cluster Coordinator, Mr. Salvador Yulas.

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