THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 7 gave P5,000 in cash aid to each of the 450 street vendors affected by the road clearing operations conducted by the Cebu City Government.
Mayor Edgardo Labella led the distribution of the financial assistance at the City Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020.
Labella said the more than P2 million in cash aid was given by the DSWD 7 with the help of Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go.
He said there are 250 vendors who have yet to receive their cash aid in the coming days.
The financial assistance, he said, was given to augment the street vendors’ capital, and they received it without any condition from the DSWD 7.
The vendors welcomed the cash aid, with most of them saying it could help them.
Raquel Bohol-Arce, head of the Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement (Probe) team, accompanied the vendors at the turnover ceremony.
The Probe team implemented in Cebu City the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s Memorandum Circular 121, which mandates local government units to clear their roads of obstructions.
Most of the displaced vendors had stalls along Osmeña Blvd. and Colon St. However, the vendors were later allowed to sell their merchandise in these areas every Saturday and Sunday after Labella obtained permission from Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino and Go. The vendors were told not to block the sidewalk. (PAC / KAL)