The Department of Trade and Industry is ready to help Filipinos that lost their jobs amid the pandemic through its agencies’ livelihood programs.
In a Palace briefing Tuesday, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said the department is distributing livelihood kits worth PHP5,000 to PHP10,000 to an individual to start his own business.
Lopez said these livelihood kits are given for free and not as loans.
“We teach the nation to fish to feed them for a lifetime,” he added.
Lopez said over 50,000 livelihood kits were distributed throughout the country.
Aside from livelihood kits, the DTI is still rolling out the Covid-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) program, a zero-interest loan to help existing businesses survive amid the pandemic.
This month, the DTI is conducting a survey to determine the impacts of the recent restrictions in community quarantine in Metro Manila and other parts of the country.
As of June, closed businesses in Metro Manila were at 10 percent.
Lopez said although there are businesses that permanently shut down, more businesses have opened despite the pandemic.
Most of these businesses are engaged in e-commerce and other sectors that have growth amid the ongoing health and economic crisis.*PNA
