Yesterday, Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. personally honored them during the flag ceremony at city hall with plaques of recognition.
One of them was Ernesta Madela, a former sewer turned maker of quality bags. The other was Teresita Valila, a teacher and former sari-sari store owner now a wholesale trader.
Madela and Valila are among the 16,814 beneficiaries of the city government’s Puhunang Pangkabuhayan Sikap Buhay (PPSB), a livelihood and entrepreneurship program launched when Belmonte assumed office five years ago.
From a shaky start with only 248 borrowers in 2002 and an initial P 1.4 million in lending capital, Sikap Buhay has grown by leap and bounds.
It has provided the capital needs of 16,814 micro entrepreneurs amounting to P212 million sourced from the Cooperative Rural Bank of Bulacan, (CRBB) NOVADECI, Eurocredit and ASA foundation.