The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through its Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), has provided assistance worth P7,921,340 to eight workers’ associations affected by the closure and rehabilitation of Boracay Island in 2018.

In a turnover ceremony on October 16, 2019, DSWD Undersecretary Mark Allan Jay Yambao, Assistant Secretary Rhea Peñaflor, and officials of the local government of Malay distributed the second phase of seed capital assistance benefiting some 2,659 families.

The associations include: the Boracay Land and Sea Port Boat Transport Association Inc. for hog raising project; Boracay Malay Sea and Land Haulers Multi-Purpose Cooperative for rice-retail project; Caticlan-Boracay Motorboat Multi-Purpose Cooperative for carwash with component of auto repair services and catering services; Caticlan Port Vendors Multi-Purpose Cooperative for pasalubong wholesaler and retail project; Kalipunan ng Maliliit na Magniniyog ng Napa-an Multi-Purpose Cooperative for soft-broom production and marketing; Malay Boracay Vendors Association for accessories product supply and massage services; Malay Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association for the rice trading and motorcycle services with component of spare parts; and MASBOI Sailboat Multi-Purpose Cooperative for commodity store project.

Within the period of April to October 2018, DSWD distributed the first phase of livelihood assistance amounting to P158,940,000 benefiting 10,596 families. The Department will release six more phases to complete the assistance package.

The provision of livelihood assistance to the groups or associations in Boracay will enable the members to have alternative form of livelihood or to improve their entrepreneurial capabilities for their existing businesses in the island.

Aside from the livelihood assistance, SLP is also providing technical assistance to the affected groups through monitoring and partnership engagement to ensure that the enterprises will be sustained.

SLP is a capability-building program for the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized households and communities to help improve their socio-economic conditions through accessing and acquiring necessary assets to engage in and maintain thriving livelihoods. It contributes to improving the economic sufficiency of poor households in developing employable skills, securing gainful employment, and earning steady and sufficient financial resources. It provides several modalities under its two tracks which are microenterprise development and employment facilitation.

The Department commits to continue assisting the workers displaced by the closure and rehabilitation of the island for them to recover and eventually start anew through their own livelihood projects. -30-