WITH a budget of P1.2 billion, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is urging workers affected by the ongoing Middle East crisis to avail of the agency's emergency employment program.
In a television interview, DOLE Spokesman Lennard Serrano said all its field offices are open to workers, who are in need of assistance.
"We will continue to provide services like the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (Tupad) to support our countrymen in need," said Serrano.
"The DOLE is in solidarity with what we are experiencing right now and we will continue to provide services through our programs," he added.
Over the weekend, DOLE said it has allocated P1.2 billion to aid workers affected by the Middle East crisis.
The budget will be utilized mainly through DOLE's two flagship social protection programs, including the Tupad program.
"These programs are in place to support vulnerable workers, including those who may be displaced as a consequence of the current energy emergency," said DOLE in a statement.
Tupad is a community-based emergency employment program, wherein displaced, underemployed, and marginalized workers work for 10 to 30 days on community projects and get paid with the minimum wage rate.
Serrano also pointed that the emergency employment assistance remains open to all workers in need of aid, and not just transport sector workers.
He said the Tupad program is accessible to all vulnerable, marginalized, and displaced workers.
"Tupad is intended to provide emergency employment assistance for the vulnerable, marginalized, and displaced workers. We will be looking at who really needs this immediate assistance," said the labor official.
"We are focusing the P1.2 billion for transport industry workers, but the implementation of the program is still ongoing and continuous even for other sectors that are similarly hit by this crisis," Serrano added. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)