By Charissa Luci-Atienza The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has invited all eligible poor, vulnerable, marginalized, and disadvantaged households to join its Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP). Department of Social Welfare and Development (MANILA BULLETIN) The SLP is the agency’s flagship capacity-building program that operates in all regions and provinces nationwide to help improve the socio-economic conditions of poor households and communities, it said. "Livelihood opportunities are a powerful tool to fight poverty and inequality. Through SLP, the Department contributes to improving the economic sufficiency of poor households by helping them develop employable skills, secure gainful employment, and earn steady and sufficient financial resources," the DSWD said in a statement. All cities, municipalities, and barangays are considered potential areas for the implementation of various SLP interventions, it said. "Those who are interested to avail may visit the nearest DSWD Field Office (FO) in their area to determine their eligibility and undergo the necessary process," the DSWD said. The SLP, which has been implemented since 2011, has two tracks--the Microenterprise Development (MD) and the Employment Facilitation (EF) track. Under the MD track, beneficiaries will be briefed of the components in starting-up micro-enterprises, while the EF track provides an overview of the endeavors involved in seeking and securing employment, it said. "SLP could engage a maximum of two members per household, but each shall pursue different program tracks," the DSWD said. The agency sets requirements for those availing of the MD and EF tracks. For the MD track, qualified participants must be at least 16 years old, while those on the EF track must be 18 years old upon employment, in line with legal employment standards. "Participants who are not beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) will be name-matched with DSWD’s Listahanan database, an information management system that identifies who and where the poor are nationwide," the DSWD said. It explained that name-matching is a process in which the names of the participants will be thoroughly checked if included in the database. "If participants are not included in the Listahanan database, but were assessed as qualified for the program using the SLP Participant Qualification Form, they will undergo a household assessment under the National Household Targeting Unit using the Household Assessment Form. "If identified poor, the participants may proceed with the succeeding SLP activities. If identified as non-poor, however, they will be referred to other appropriate institutions of the government." The DSWD noted that the SLP has assisted 1,663,921 households under the MD track and 448,246 households under the EF track since its implementation in 2011 up to October 2019. "From 2016 to 2018, SLP recorded a 76 percent success rate for the MD track, with 82,126 projects still on-going out of the 108,176 micro-enterprise projects implemented," the agency said, quoting a report from the program. It added that the program also recorded a 43 percent success rate for the EF track on the same period, with 15,438 individuals still employed out of the 35,909 served. "The Department upholds the value of inclusiveness in the implementation of its programs and services, including SLP, to ensure that all those who are qualified are able to avail assistance of from the Department," it said.