A TOTAL of 4,771 worker-beneficiaries from Tarlac are set to receive more than ₱20 million in emergency employment assistance from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) before the holidays.
Of this number, some 1,031 workers were already paid their wages during the ceremonial payout Friday, December 18, 2020, at the Bulwagang Kanlahi, San Vicente, Tarlac City.
Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Ating Disadvantaged / Displaced Workers (Tupad) is a flagship program of the department that provides 10 to 30 days of employment to displaced, underemployed, and seasonal workers.
The same program was reinvigorated through Republic Act No. 11494, or more commonly known as the Bayanihan to Recover As Once Act
(Bayanihan 2), as one of the government’s responses to the devastating consequences of the global pandemic, both to the economy and Filipinos’ standard of living.
In his message during the payout, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III recognized the hardships that the pandemic and recent typhoons have brought.
He assured that the government is consistently in action to assist various affected sectors.
"It is very much in these trying times that we, as public servants, have to intensify our efforts so we can bring to our people the appropriate programs that will help them in alleviating the difficulties as a result of loss of employment and livelihoods,” Bello said.
Meanwhile, Tarlac Governor Susan Yap expressed her gratitude to DOLE for its continuous assistance to the province.
According to Yap, the agency has been generous to the province, allotting more than ₱10 million of its Tupad program prior to the March lockdown.
The payout of wages under the Provincial Government of Tarlac (PGT) is scheduled in batches from December 18 to 23, 2020. Aside from the 180 worker-beneficiaries from all 18 LGUs in the province, DOLE also released wages of beneficiaries from the municipalities of Gerona (226 beneficiaries), Victoria (280 beneficiaries), San Jose (140 beneficiaries), and Tarlac City (205 beneficiaries).
The Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (Owwa) Regional Office No. III also distributed ₱780,000 to 78 OFWs under the DOLE Akap program and ₱90,000 for three OFW dependents under the Tabang OFW. Twenty-four OFWs also received various assistance from Owwa such as livelihood, social benefits and welfare assistance, while 12 dependents of OFWs received their scholarship assistance.
In an interview, Regional Director Ma. Zenaida Angara-Campita said the department is in close coordination with partner agencies and LGUs in the implementation of its various programs.
"Our goal is to be able to release our funds before the holidays and we’re working double and triple time to accomplish this,” Campita said.
As of December 18, DOLE Regional Office No. III already released over ₱598 million to 119,602 formal sector workers under the Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program and P488.61 million to 87,002 workers under Tupad Bayanihan 2.