House Deputy Speaker and Antique Rep. Loren Legarda relaunched her "LOREN" (Livelihood Opportunities to Raise Employment Nationwide) barangay employment program in about 590 barangays in Antique province.
Under LOREN, residents of the barangays will receive assistance in finding jobs through different livelihood and employment programs as a way to assist Antique's recovery from the coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19) .
“Ang epektibong pagbangon mula sa pandemya ay ang masiguro na ang mga batas at programa natin ay maayos na napapatupad sa bawat barangay (Effective recovery during the pandemic is ensuring that our laws and programs are properly executed in each barangay),” said Legarda in a press statement on Friday, Feb. 11.
“Kaya katuwang ng ating mga barangay leaders at local officials, maayos nating na-identify ang pangangailangan ng bawat barangay at naitugma ito sa livelihood programs at mga proyekto (Together with the assistance of barangay leaders, we can identify the needs of each barangay and match them to different livelihood programs),” expounded the former long-time senator.
LOREN is a joint collaboration between elements of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
Citing Legarda’s program geared toward redeveloping the province, Antique Governor Rhodora Cadiao and Libertad Municipality Mayor Mary Jean Te declared their endorsement of Legarda’s senatorial campaign.
"Kailangan pa natin ang ating pinalangga na Inday Loren, pero mas kailangan siya ng lahat ng Pilipino (While we need Inday Loren, the Filipinos need her more)," said Cadiao.
"Siya ang nagdala sa aming probinsya upang makilala bilang rising star of Western Visayas (She helped our province become a rising star in Western Visayas). You are our pride, Senator Loren Legarda," added Te.
Legarda is vying for another senatorial bid in the 2022 elections under the UniTeam tandem of presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos and his running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.