COTABATO CITY—A total of 1,177 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Marawi City, Lanao del Sur were provided livelihood assistance by the Ministry of Social Services and Development’s (MSSD) Bangsamoro Sagip Kabuhayan (BSK).
The BSK is one of the programs implemented by MSSD under the Marawi Recovery, Reconstruction, and Rehabilitation Program of the Office of the Chief Minister (OCM), which targets to provide 2,000 indigent home-based IDPs with livelihood seed capital funds.
Each beneficiary received Php15,000.00 as seed capital for micro and small business owners to develop or expand their micro-enterprises and improve their socio-economic conditions.
The distribution of the BSK funds began with the first batch of 185 beneficiaries on Dec. 11, 2020, followed by the second batch of 499 beneficiaries on Jan. 24, 2021, and 493 beneficiaries on Mar. 24, 2021.
Beneficiaries of the BSK program have undergone a comprehensive evaluation and confirmation process in collaboration with members of the Project Steering Committee of the Bangsamoro Government’s Marawi Rehabilitation Program. Indigent and disadvantaged people, persons with disabilities (PWDs), single parents, senior citizens, low-income families, workers in the informal sector, subsistence economy workers, rebel returnees, and women, in particularly difficult circumstances, were among those who benefitted.
MSSD Minister Atty. Raissa H. Jajurie said, “the livelihood assistance grant from MSSD seeks to reduce poverty and inequality by generating employment among the poor IDPs from Marawi City, and moving them toward economic stability.”
Based on the recommendations of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority’s (BTA) Special Committee on Marawi Recovery, Reconstruction, and Rehabilitation, the Bangsamoro Regional Government launched the Marawi Recovery, Reconstruction, and Rehabilitation Program for the year 2020, which combines all of the Bangsamoro Government’s initiatives using the initial Php500 million funds from the OCM. (Bangsamoro Information Office)