Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay on Friday praised a 42-year-old resident who used the city government’s P5,000 financial assistance to start a small fishball cart business amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Binay took to Twitter to express her admiration for Mario Lutang, a resident of Asuncion Street, Barangay Valenzuela, who built his fishball cart bearing a “Katas ng Makatulong” signage.
A welder by profession, Lutang was laid off from work at the start of the pandemic and had to take on odd jobs to survive. His luck turned after he and his wife Veronica received P5,000 each from the city’s Makatulong P5K program.
The P2.7-billion financial relief program which benefits 500,000 Makati residents and employees was launched by Mayor Binay in May 2020.
“I am humbled and amazed by the determination and perseverance of Mr. Mario Lutang. He had the foresight to use the city’s cash assistance to generate sustainable income for him and his family. On behalf of the city government, we applaud you,” Binay said.
“Thank you for serving as an example of hope and resilience to all of us. You are truly a model #Proudmakatizen,” the city chief executive added as she posted photos of Lutang’s store on her twitter account.
What’s even more impressive is that Lutang built his fishball cart with his own two hands. Years ago, this hard-working father took up a vocational course in welding at the University of Makati. The program was also a project of Mayor Binay.
Lutang and his wife Veronica have been Makati residents since 2005 and are holders of the city’s all-in-one Makatizen Card. He narrated that after the program was announced, he and his wife received P5,000 which was credited to their GCash accounts in just three days.
Lutang said he decided to invest the money he received from the Makatulong P5K program to have a regular source of income for his family. According to him, it took more than five days to construct his small fishball cart.
“I spent my P5,000 to buy materials for the food cart, and I borrowed some of my wife’s money to buy the initial inventory. I used around P1,000 to buy the items we were going to sell,” Lutang explained.
He started selling his wares on July 15 and frequents the LTO area in Makati as well as Makati City Hall. Lutang proudly said he makes P500 to P600 a day selling fish balls and refreshments.
Lutang is beyond grateful to Mayor Binay and the city government for its programs such as the Makatulong P5K. He said this program gave him and his family a fresh start and a chance to survive amid the pandemic.
