THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has stopped accepting applications for financial assistance through its Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (Camp) under Republic Act 11494, or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2).
Labor Advisory 33 Series of 2020 stated that effective December 11, the agency shall cease to accept online applications for the P5,000 financial assistance under Camp.
"The Department of Labor and Employment has already reached the target beneficiaries and is currently evaluating and processing payment of the remaining applications," it said.
Meanwhile, the agency will continue to receive and process applications for assistance among tourism sector workers as prescribed under its Joint Memorandum Circular 2020-01 and Joint Advisory 01, Series of 2020 with the Department of Tourism (DOT).
The advisory further stated that DOLE regional offices, including that in Western Visayas, are advised to process the issuance of financial aid of all tourism-related major industry groups.
These include administrative and support service activities; accommodation and food service activities; arts, entertainment and recreation activities with the exception of gambling and betting services; and other service activities.
The amount needed shall be charged to available funds allocated for the purpose under the Bayanihan 2, it added.
Based on the guidelines provided under Department Order 218-2020, the Camp shall cover displaced workers, including probationary, project, seasonal, contractual and casual employees during this pandemic.
They are affected employees of private health institutions, culture and arts, creative industries but not limited to film and audiovisual workers, broadcast, construction, public transportation, trade and industries, cooperatives and other sectors of the economy as maybe identified by the department.
The program, this time, will cater to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) who applied for Camp on or before April 15, 2020 but did not receive any financial assistance under Bayanihan 1.
Other preference include other private establishments that are not categorized as MSMEs who applied for Camp on or before April 15, 2020 but did not receive any financial assistance under Bayanihan 1; MSMEs that will apply for the first time under Bayanihan 2; and other private establishments not categorized as MSMEs that apply for the first time under Bayanihan 2.
A one-time financial assistance of P5,000 shall be provided to affected workers in the private establishments regardless of employment status whether retrenched or temporarily laid-off.
For displaced workers in the education sector, meanwhile, like teaching and non-teaching personnel in private and public education institutions, will avail themselves of a cash assistance program under Camp in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on Higher Education (Ched).
In May this year, DOLE-Western Visayas, through Camp 1, reported that it has already disbursed over P100 million worth of cash assistance to at least 20,000 workers in the region including Negros Occidental. These assisted workers are employees of 1,061 establishments covered as May 4, 2020, it added.
It can be recalled that the Dole previously stopped accepting applications for financial assistance under Camp 1.
The agency said "it has been swamped with volumes of requests that the available fund for the program amounting to P1.6 billion is very close to being depleted."