ILOILO CITY — A group of sailboat owners in Boracay will embark on a rice retailing business as temporary source of livelihood during the island’s closure.
The Malay Sailing Boat Owners Inc. Multipurpose Cooperative (MASBOI MPC) will use the PHP1 million they received from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to purchase 400 sacks of rice.
The project is a food security measure and an income-generating initiative that will provide alternative source of income to sailors and crew members affected by the closure of Boracay.
Evan Jay Alianza, general manager of MASBOI MPC, on Monday said their group members have all agreed to venture into rice retailing since it is easier to sell and there is a quick return of capital. Each sack of rice will be sold at PHP2,250.
Alianza said through their retail business, their members can get their money on a daily basis and need not wait for a month to earn.
“We are totally devastated by the closure because there were really no more visitors who will do sailboating,” he said in an interview with Philippine News Agency (PNA).
Sailboating is among the water activities enjoyed by local and foreign tourists visiting the island before its shutdown last April 26.
Since then, Alianza said their operation totally stopped and affected their organization’s 649 members.
“Most of our members are from the mainland of Malay, Aklan,” he said.
Established in 2012, MASBOI MPC aims to improve the socio-economic well-being of its members by providing viable entrepreneurial activities to uplift their living conditions.
With the assistance provided to them by DOLE, Alianza said that they will have alternative income while waiting for the island’s reopening this October 26.
Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go led the distribution of the financial assistance to MASBOI, together with Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, at the gymnasium in the village of Manocmanoc Sunday.
Aside from the livelihood assistance, they also distributed among the 636 beneficiaries of the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disavantaged/Displaced (TUPAD) Workers program of DOLE their PHP4,800 half-month salary.
They also distributed cash cards to 500 beneficiaries of the Boracay Emergency Employment Program (BEEP) Adjustment Measures Program.
Under the program, each beneficiary received PHP4,205.50 as monthly salary if they were displaced/suspended workers, and PHP6,308 lump sum for retained workers without regular wage. (Cindy Ferrer/PNA)
