CITY OF MALOLOS -- Some 34 displaced workers from two companies in Bulacan province, on Wednesday, received P340,000 livelihood assistance from the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole).
Of the total displaced workers mentioned, 24 are from the Hyup Dong Philippines Co. Inc., Ltd., while the remaining are from the Valisno Bus Company.
The intervention came when the two groups of displaced workers sought the Dole's intervention in light of their retrenchment either due to economic loss or suspension of operations.
Dole Regional Director Ana Dione said that the livelihood assistance for the affected workers was sourced from the Dole Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP).
In Dione’s report to Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, the DOLE-Bulacan Field Office mobilized its Dole Quick Response Team (QRT) in profiling the said affected workers.
The DOLE-QRT, under the Dole Adjustment Measures Program (Dole AMP), provides a package of interventions in aiding workers and companies in coping with economic disruptions.
“Reintegration for displaced workers, through our Dole-AMP, is one of our priorities at the Labor Department. Tapping our various Dole interventions, we are able to empower our workers and facilitate them with other employment opportunities or engage them to venture into entrepreneurship through our livelihood programs," Dione explained.
“Our strong linkage and partnership with the Bulacan Provincial Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (PTIPC) made it easier for us in identifying the type of interventions our displaced workers needed from the Department,” she added.
The livelihood intervention provided are Dole-Kabuhayan Starter KITS in the form of start-up businesses in sewing kits, frozen food-vending, mini-carinderia/snacks, sari-sari store retailing, rice retailing, and junk shop among others.
Dole Bulacan Field Office head Nely Punzalan said that the beneficiaries have undergone an Entrepreneurship Development Training (EDT), which includes basic project management and bookkeeping.
“Our beneficiaries, prior to receiving their starter kits, were given adequate orientation and training on how to manage their small businesses to ensure that they could transform them to formidable and sustainable businesses,” Punzalan explained.
The Dole, this year, vows to continue its mandate in providing employment opportunities and developmental livelihood interventions for those who might be displaced from work due to economic reasons. (Jerry Borja/Dole-3 LCO)