DUMAGUETE CITY: The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) - Negros Oriental has begun distributing PHP15 million worth of livelihood projects to beneficiaries in the province, an official said Thursday. Rubie Cempron, DOLE-Negros Oriental senior labor and employment officer and livelihood focal person, said the first batch of beneficiaries to receive their livelihood grants was from Bindoy town. 'We are currently turning over today two projects worth some PHP1.7 million to two groups in Bindoy as the first of a series of rollouts for the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) this year,' Cempron said in an interview. The Nabanggian Farmers Association in Sitio Nabanggian of Barangay Atotes - an ELCAC (End Local Communist Armed Conflict) area with 51 members - received a Chicken Egg Production package worth more than PHP793,000. The other beneficiary was the 57-member Malaga United Fisherfolks Association in Barangay Malaga, which received a Fish Aggregating Device costing PHP1 million. Cempron sai d the DOLE assists vulnerable sectors with livelihood projects for additional income and opts for sustainability for members to improve their living conditions. Meanwhile, the provincial DOLE office also distributed on Tuesday the last batch of DILP assistance to beneficiaries in Tayasan town from the previous year's PHP13 million allocation. Source: Philippines News agency