The government support for Filipinos who are jobless and those who lack income, should be expanded, according to House Deputy Majority Leader and ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo. He said he will propose this at the reopening of the 19th Congress session in June.
“The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has an existing livelihood aid program where it gives P15,000 capital to every family, from a poor community, without a stable source of income to mount their own business,” he said.
“But the beneficiaries of the expanded livelihood aid should undergo sufficient training for the ins and outs of business management so the capital given by the government would be spent to genuinely improve their lives,” added Tulfo, also a former DSWD chief.
The lawmaker refers to DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Program or SLP, a capacity-building program, given to the identified poor, vulnerable, and marginalized households and communities.
SLP is part of the poverty alleviation program of DSWD headed by Secretary Rex Gatchalian, pursuant to the poverty alleviation goal of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“The target of SLP are those individuals living in poor households and those families who graduated from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps),” said the lawmaker currently running for senator in the 2025 midterm elections.
“I will file a bill pushing for a more inclusive SLP where all Filipinos, not only those in poor households, but also those qualified individuals who are jobless or those who lack income will be given livelihood aid,” Tulfo added.