MARAWI CITY (PIA)—The Bangsamoro government awarded P150,000 in financial assistance to 100 cooperatives from across the Bangsamoro region through the Cooperative and Social Enterprise Authority's (CSEA) Special Assistance for Viable Enterprise (SAVE) grant program.

Seventy-four of the coops are from the mainland provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Lanao del Sur, as well as the cities of Cotabato and Marawi, while 26 are from the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.

The first set of 56 coops from the mainland areas received their checks, December 29, 2022, while the remaining beneficiaries are to receive their assistance in January 2023.

Abdullah Dipatuan, who is in charge of the CSEA's administrative division, said the grant recipients were chosen after a careful selection and screening process.

"The selected cooperatives underwent a strict process of application, including the submission of their respective project proposals and verification of their residences in conflict-affected areas. They were severely affected by the pandemic, and heeding sustainable intervention," Dipatuan said.

In the meantime, CSEA Executive Director Samcia Ibrahim stressed how important it was for the cooperatives to follow the rules so that the beneficiaries could work.

"This financial assistance will serve as start-up capital for your cooperatives in the implementation of your submitted feasible and viable business proposal to increase your earnings, and eventually, your coop will boost its functionality and could even lead to enhanced living conditions for your members," Ibrahim said.

"Since this is a grant, you will expect that we will closely monitor the implementation of this program," she added.

Chairman Ismael Zaman of Kalalagan Marketing Cooperative from Lanao del Sur conveyed his thanks for the program. "We are very thankful to the CSEA and the BARMM as a whole for providing us with this financial assistance, and we decided to put up a sari-sari store to sell rice, fertilizer, and other farm commodities to cater to the necessities of our own coop members and farmers in our area," he said.

Meanwhile, Engr. Mlang Madal, chairman of Duca Farmers and Fisherfolks Marketing Cooperative in Cotabato City, said, "This amount we received is really a big help for us in the cooperative sector, especially for us that we have an existing poultry raising, we could add this amount as another capital in expanding it."

CSEA Social Enterprise Division Chief Lininding Pangandaman is hoping that the grant will serve as a vehicle for the progress of their respective coops and as a means of alleviating the living conditions for their families and their community in general. (BIO/PIA-10/Lanao del Sur)