ANGELES CITY (PIA) -- The city government continues to revive local tourism as it boosts and features various gastronomic treats.
Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. said the tourism industry is one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, thus reviving it under the new normal is a top priority of the city.
“As part of our programs to aid the industry from the pandemic, we are maximizing the use of social media to regularly post promotional videos of our city’s rich history, including our heritage houses, food tourism, and Gawang Angeleño products,” he said.
Further, in a bid to jumpstart the economy, the city provided alternative livelihood to affected individuals, such as the “Angeleño First” Facemask livelihood project.
Records from the city government said that through the project, 120 women home-based seamstress were hired and paid to produce 72,000 facemasks and 6,600 Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for the city’s health workers and front liners.
“Last June 25, we already turned over 1,000 washable PPEs made by them. This project was realized with the help of the 17 Angeleño designers who assisted the home-based seamstresses for the project, free of charge. That is why I want to thank them,” the mayor said.
In order to be more inclusive and responsive to the employment needs of Angeleños, Lazatin said the city also conducted job fairs which provide local and overseas employment opportunities to 941 Angeleños registered in the database system of the Public Employment Services Office.
Also, 352 Angeleñas were provided with livelihood packages.
Meanwhile, in support to small businesses, the city provided an avenue to 12 local merchants to display and sell their products through the One Town One Product (OTOP) store.
“Through several live selling events and displaying their products at the OTOP kiosk, they have generated total sales worth P487,235. At the same time, the city waives the P500 administrative fee from them, and opens two additional OTOP kiosks within the City Hall premises to expand their market,” Lazatin said.
The city recorded a P2.16 billion revenue July 2020 to May 2021, amid the challenges brought about by the pandemic.
For the first time in 13 years also, the city recorded a budget surplus of P192 million for 2019. (CLJD/MJSC-PIA 3)
