MANILA, Philippines -- Persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Manila will get the first crack at earning a decent income through cellphone electronic loading booths to be installed in each of the city’s 897 villages.

In a meeting with officers of the Ilaw ng May Kapansanan Foundation, Inc. at the Manila City Hall on Wednesday, Mayor Alfredo Lim approved the livelihood project to put up the e-load booths to be manned by PWDs who will earn at least P400 a day.

"This is a laudable project as it impacts on the disabled. We want to make them productive citizens and provide them with the income that will help them lead decent lives," Lim said of the "E-Load Mo, Buhay Ko" led by Smart Communications.

"E-Load Mo, Buhay Ko," which will begin in May, will be implemented in coordination with the Manila Barangay Bureau and the Manila Department of Social Welfare.

The mayor also thanked the project proponents for choosing Manila as the initial site for the project that will help reintegrate the PWDs into mainstream society.

Aside from selling cellphone load, the booths can also provide repair and the sale of accessories, depending on the skills of the PWDs who will man them.

If the PWD is a child, the immediate family becomes the direct beneficiary of the project, said Ilaw ng May Kapansanan Foundation president Pete Manio.