The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has distributed on Thursday, Oct. 27, a livelihood package to at least 120 ‘pedicab’ drivers to help them cope with the surge in prices of commodities and services.
Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma led the awarding of livelihood support under DOLE’s Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) amounting to P1,080,700.00 benefiting pedicab drivers and ambulant vendors in Intramuros, Manila.
The move was in addition to DOLE’s partnership with the Department of Tourism (DOT) for the ‘Trabaho, Turismo, Asenso’ Job Fair program of the government, according to Laguesma.
The assistance was in the form of livelihood enhancement and DOLE’s Negosyo sa Kariton (NegoKart) – a project that assists ambulant vendors in making their existing livelihood undertakings grow into a profitable and sustainable businesses.
Laguesma said that an initial batch of 42 pedicab drivers and three ambulant vendors benefitted from the assistance, each received not more than P30,000.
Laguesma added that beneficiaries will be trained in the end-to-end cycle of service quality to prevent or correct service errors.
“They will be provided with standardized uniforms, brochures, and other tourism paraphernalia as part of the package of assistance,” he said.
Under the existing memorandum of understanding between DOLE and DOT, assistance is given to community-based tourism organizations in the form of quality service and livelihood interventions.
“DOLE implements productivity and livelihood programs which could raise the level of tourism and entrepreneurial services of DOT-trained community tour guides represented by pedicab drivers, karitelas, other vendors, and tourism-oriented small-scale enterprises such as souvenirs shops,” Laguesma expounded.
“This is just a pilot implementation. DOLE and DOT will implement the program in other parts of Metro Manila and other tourist destinations in the country,” he added.