San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has launched a livelihood center for 500 families living in Bulakan, Bulacan, as it continues to work on preparing the future site of the New Manila International Airport (NMIA).
Through the San Miguel Aerocity Inc. (SMAI) Livelihood Center, Bulakan citizens who used to reside at the NMIA project site can avail of training support and immediately apply the skills they have learned to earn a stable income for their families at the livelihood center located in Barangay San Nicolas.
“Our continuing efforts to engage residents and local officials in Bulakan has allowed us to fine-tune our existing livelihood restoration programs, as well as come up with new initiatives that will adapt to their needs,” Ramon Ang, SMC president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
“With these, we can better ensure that the economic growth that the NMIA will bring in the coming years will be inclusive and will be felt by Bulacan residents and the rest of the country,” he added.
The SMAI Livelihood Center is a partnership between SMAI, the Bulacan provincial office of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Department of Trade and Industry, and the Gintong Aral Foundation.
The launch of the SMAI Livelihood Center, led by SMAI Project Lead Cecile Ang and Bulakan Mayor Vergel Meneses, also coincided with the formal creation of the Livelihood sa Pag-unlad (LIPAD) consumer cooperative.
Through the LIPAD consumer cooperative, SMAI in partnership with Gintong Aral aims to empower residents through training and knowledge transfer on the inner workings of a cooperative to harness the strength of collective membership and ensure a stronger enterprise with better profitability.
With assistance from Gintong Aral, residents organized themselves into a consumer cooperative to run the facility, which will feature a coffee shop, spa, sewing room and several training areas to help equip other members of the community with practical skills to increase their chances of employment and success in individual business ventures. – Myla Iglesias
