The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) over the weekend said it continues to enhance its Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) by expanding partnerships with other government agencies.

“We do understand that not everyone is going to be an entrepreneur. It’s very hard to start a business so what we are doing is tapping on the expertise of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to be able to help us assess,” DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said.

The DSWD chief said the agency also does not have the technical expertise for these things (SLP’s employment track), which is why the agency partnered with concerned agencies such as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the DOLE.

“We are strengthening our partnership with DOLE through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and we are really literally tapping into the job start program which I had discussed with DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma,” Gatchalian pointed out.

The SLP has two tracks – the Micro-Enterprise Development (MD), which is designed for those who would like to venture into entrepreneurship, and the Employment Facilitation (EF), which seeks to assist qualified individuals to gain employment.

With the planned MOU with DOLE, beneficiaries under the EF may qualify for the JobStart Program, an employment facilitation program that aims to help unemployed youth aged 18 to 24 through life skills and technical training, as well as paid internships or work experience to improve their employability.

Gatchalian said those who are aligned with entrepreneurship, which falls under the MD, will also benefit from the agency’s plans to forge new partnerships with other government agencies.

“We are also working with the Department of Tourism (DOT) because they have a very vibrant tourism jump start business program especially in areas that are emerging tourist destinations,” Secretary Gatchalian said.

Sibol: A 5-Year Framework

According to Gatchalian, the Department is embarking on a five-year framework for the SLP Program dubbed as ‘Sibol.’

“Now, we reformatted it and called it the SIBOL program which is like a plant. So, it’s now a 5-year program wherein you get your initial grant on Year 1. On Year 2, we look for certain indexes. Some type of net income, formalization process, or jobs generation and then if we see those indexes, we do give them a third year grant for the group which is P100,000,” Gatchalian said.

In Year 4, the DSWD continues to monitor and provide the group with technical assistance, looking for more signs of growth and formalization. In Year 5, they are granted another P250,000.

With the implementation of the SIBOL 5-year framework in the SLP program, the agency also plans to formalize SLP community businesses under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).