South Cotabato is a beneficiary of projects coming from the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting or GPB worth P14.553 million, a senior trade and industry official disclosed.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 12 Regional Director Ibrahim Guiamadel said in a letter sent to the Office of the Governor that twenty (20) GPB projects are presently enrolled in his office coming from the province.
Seven towns, RD Guiamadel added, are beneficiaries of the projects and these are Polomolok, Tampakan, Lake Sebu, Norala, Sto. Nino, Surallah and T’boli.
“We have already transferred 27% of the project cost. To date, one (1) project in T’boli has already been completed while the rest are still on-going,” Guiamadel explained in his letter.
Guiamadel was referring to the Beads-Making project of T’boli with a project cost of P275,000.00.
The other projects of T’boli include Loom-Weaving (P525,000.00), Brass-Casting (P168,000.00) and Eco Bag-Making (P129,600.00).
Meanwhile, Polomolok have chosen Information Communication Technology (P1,000,000.00) and Pasalubong Center (P500,000.00), while Tampakan have Engineered Bamboo (P1,645,000.00), Production of Coco Coir and Fiber and Meat Processing (P910.275.00), Processing of Coconut Food Products(p250,000.00) and Tindahang Pinoy/Pasalubong Center (P5000,000.00), as their GPB projects.
For Lake Sebu, the home of the Tiboli IPs, their sustainable livelihood projects include T’nalak-Weaving, Beads-Making, Handicraft-Making, Hand-loom Weaving, Embroidery-Making, Wood-Carving, Brass-Casting and Food Processing (P3,000,000.00) and Bamboo Development (P250,000.00).
Sto. Nino’s projects, on the other hand, are Indigenous Paper Bag-Making (P1,8000,000.00), Engineered Bamboo Products and Production of Rice-based Products (P2,000,000.00) and Jewelry-Making (P300,000.00).
Surallah and Norala, the other towns listed as GPB beneficiaries, have Food Processing (P400,000.00) and Pottery-Making, Handicrafts (P200,000.00), and Business Permit Licensing System (P500,000.00), respectively.