Housewife from Talisay City, one of 8,000 beneficiaries of SUGBO Negosyo

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

 CEBU Province – A housewife from Talisay City, Cebu is one of the 8,000 beneficiaries of SUGBO Negosyo program of the Cebu Provincial Government that equipped micro, small and medium entrepreneurs in the province with a P10,000 grants and development seminar to improve their enterprise.

Housewife Emelinda Tayag, 59 and mother of five received Php 10,000 under the “Mga Serbisyo ug Ginagmay’ng Patigayon” category from the office of the Provincial Board Member Yolanda Daan.

Tayag settled in Cebu from Tarlac in 1989 for a living. Her husband worked for a coffin industry which later started his own business to such.

Nagpapasalamat ako sa programang ito, dahil noong lockdown akala ko wala na talaga lahat. Ito’y patunay na may blessings talaga na dumadating,” Tayag said during the enterprise development seminar conducted by DTI Cebu in Tabunok, Talisay on February 18.

Tayag bared that during the pandemic her daughter, who worked for a kitchen industry in Dubai has stopped sending the family money for a while.  Tayag decided to put up a sari-sari store in front of their house to sustain their needs on top of the husband’s fleeting sustenance.

“It was during the last day ng pagsubmit ng applications nang ako’y makabalita sa SUGBO Negosyo pero sinubukan ko din naman,” she added.

Sugbo Negosyo is a livelihood assistance program of the Cebu Provincial Government in partnership with the DTI-7 and the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Cebu Province allocated PHP100 million for the program released through the 17 provincial board members worth PHP5 million each, and PHP15 million through the Office of the Vice Governor Junjun Davide.

The Sugbo Negosyo Cards, which Tayag received will be used to purchase goods for her business operations and livelihood affected by the pandemic.  Other categories include “Negosyo Padayon” worth Php 50,000 and “Produktong Sugboanon” worth Php 20,000.

“Hindi ko ma-explain kung ano ang naramdaman ko noong ako’y natawagan bilang qualified beneficiary. Natanggap ko ang voucher noong January, at ngayon ako’y pursigidong umattend sa seminar ng DTI para madagdagan ang aking kaalaman sa pagnegosyo.  Nakabili na ako ng added supplies para sa aking tindahan sa natanggap ko na Php 10,000 at ako ngayo’y kumikita ng extra Php 2,000. Maraming salamat talaga,” Tayag revealed.

DTI-7 through its Negosyo Centers has conducted 17 seminars in February to provide the eligible beneficiaries with Entrepreneurship Development Seminars, facilitate Business Name and Barangay Micro Business Enterprise (BMBE) Registrations, and assist in other appropriate Business Development Services to improve their businesses.

This is part of DTI-7 Regional Operations Group Asec. Aster Caberte's commitment to the program during its launch in September 2020.