DUMAGUETE CITY, May 27 (PIA) -- Thousands of displaced workers in Negros Oriental received cash aid from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was disclosed by DOLE-Negros Oriental Public Information Officer Blessie De Padua in a PIA-IATF-EID press briefing yesterday at the IATF Multi-Agency Coordinating Center (MACC), this city.
De Padua said DOLE has two programs for workers who temporarily lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
These are the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) for employees in the formal sector and the Tulong Panghanapuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers - #Barangay Ko, Bahay Ko (TUPAD - #BKBK) Program for the marginalized workers.
DOLE released a total of P28,240,000 in financial assistance under CAMP benefitting 5,648 employees of 182 establishments across the province.
Each beneficiary received P5,000 financial aid under this program.
On the other hand, there are 2,860 informal sector workers covered by TUPAD-#BKBK.
De Padua said beneficiaries of TUPAD-#BKBK received P4,040 with a total of P11,649,960 disbursed for the entire province.
Based on DOLE Department Order No. 210, beneficiaries of this program must conduct disinfection or sanitation of their houses and in the immediate vicinity of their houses for 10 days before they can receive the said amount.
However, De Padua admitted that DOLE has stopped the implementation of these programs as funds have already been depleted at the national level but the department is looking for ways to continue to provide aid to affected workers of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For CAMP, funds were already used as of April 30 and there are 1,031 business establishments in Negros Oriental with a total of 25,599 private sector workers whose application for this cash assistance is still pending.
“Naay daghan pending which ang instruction is to forward it sa Manila. Wala na gyud na ma’am so far not until aduna tay additional allocation. We have recently directed to refer them to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or sa Department of Finance (DOF) for the Small Business Wage Subsidy Program (There are a lot of pending applications from companies and the instruction was to forward their names to our office in Manila. This will continue if there is additional allocation. We have recently been directed to refer them to DSWD or DOF for the Small Business Wage Subsidy Program),” De Padua said.
For TUPAD-#BKBK, De Padua said DOLE Negros Oriental has covered more beneficiaries than the targeted number allocated for the province and there are some 300 informal workers who are pending beneficiaries of this program.
“There were pending proposals amounting to 300 beneficiaries. Wala na gyud to na-cater (We weren’t able to cater them). We forwarded it to the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns at DOLE Central Office, hopefully, for funding request,” De Padua explained.
“So karon we are still waiting for the funds for the TUPAD-Post COVID implementation but as of the moment, wala pa ta nadawat sa office. In the event na aduna, amo pod siya bahinon. Katong mga Local Government Units (LGUs) na ni-signify ahead nga wala na pod namo ma-accommodate (For now, we are waiting for the funds for the TUPAD-Post COVID implementation. We still haven’t received it. In the event that the fund will be transferred to us, we will allocate it per LGU. We will give priority to LGUs which we weren’t able to accommodate previously),” the DOLE Public information officer added. (ral/PIA7-Negros Oriental)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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