PANIQUI, Tarlac -- Some 1,357 marginalized Tarlaqueños from different towns of Tarlac province recently finished their employment stint under the Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD).
TUPAD is a community-based assistance program of the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) that aims to provide emergency employment relief to displaced or marginalized workers.
Dole Regional Director Zenaida Angara-Campita said that the emergency employment assistance was mobilized due to the recent calamity that struck some parts of the province.
“As you know, the province of Tarlac was one of the heavily-hit provinces in Central Luzon by Typhoon Ompong leaving damages to properties and flooding of rice fields and residential areas. Just like other parts of the region that suffered from this calamity, the DOLE activated its emergency employment program, via the TUPAD, as part of its rehabilitation efforts to help calamity victims, particularly marginalized residents,” Campita explained.
In her report to Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III, she said the beneficiaries reside in 10 calamity-stricken municipalities under the province’s first district.
Campita noted that a total of P5,156,600 was funded for the wages of the beneficiaries based on the region’s prevailing daily minimum wage rate.
“Each beneficiary received around P3,800.00 for the work they performed for 10 days to clean-up, rehabilitate, and beautify their respective assigned areas of responsibility. This way, they were able to earn a little while recovering from the calamity that struck their homes and communities,” Campita explained.
Personal protective equipment/tools were handed out to the beneficiaries to ensure their safety and were all enrolled to the Government Service Insurance System’s micro insurance.
The beneficiaries were tasked to do clean-up activities which include de-clogging of canals, clearing of road debris, and basic repair and maintenance of common public infrastructure.
The labor agency will continue to coordinate with the different Public Employment Services in other calamity-stricken areas of the region to provide emergency employment as well. (PR)