The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has distributed 286 units of nego-kart or the “Negosyo sa Kariton” in the Ilocos region from January 1 to December 15 this year.
In a phone interview on Friday, DOLE 1 (Ilocos) information officer Justin Paul Marbella said 33 units were given to Ilocos Norte beneficiaries, eight units in Ilocos Sur, 20 units in Western Pangasinan, and 225 units in Central Pangasinan.
He said the nego-kart units were worth PHP5.7 million. Each unit costs PHP20,000.
Rialyn Bernabe, 38, a widow and one of the beneficiaries from Pangasinan, said the project helped her provide for her family’s needs.
“The nego-kart is heaven-sent for me to raise my children,” she said, adding that her children are still “very young” and her husband recently passed away.
Bernabe sells street food, such as kikiam and fishball, in the unit she drives.
Nego-Kart is a project for ambulant vendors in major cities of the country.
It assists ambulant vendors in making their livelihood undertakings grow into profitable and sustainable businesses thus, making their income level at par with minimum wage earners.
The project provides ambulant vendors with service or assistance that enables them to increase, upgrade and/or diversify their products or services and market these to a greater number of buyers or customers.
These include the acquisition of a vending cart and accessory livelihood tools, provision of working capital for procurement or production of marketable goods or services, raw materials and other inputs, training on production skills, entrepreneurship and business management, and business permit to operate in designated areas.
Source: Philippines News Agency
