ONLY 5,000 workers on Boracay Island will be covered by an emergency employment assistance from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), an official said Friday, April 6.

Priority shall be given to members of the informal sector, such as food stall vendors, said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.

“We are estimating about maybe 5,000 beneficiaries. That is the only number we could afford,” said Bello.

“We will use them to clean up Boracay. That is what we are assessing so that we can have a participation during the closure of Boracay,” he added.

Under the emergency employment program, worker-beneficiaries shall get the prevailing minimum wage rate in the region as well as social security benefits.

As for those from the formal sector, the Labor chief said they will issue an advisory to guide their employers.

“Should they terminate them? If they terminate them, then they should be entitled to separation pay,” he said.

“Or should they retain them? Especially since it will only be for six months,” he added.

The island would be closed to tourists for up to six months beginning April 26 to pave the way for its rehabilitation. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)