P1.25M cash released for flood-hit Marikina workers

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) released Saturday, November 14, over P1 million cash to provide emergency income to workers in Marikina City who were displaced by Typhoon Ulysses.

In a Facebook post, DOLE said Secretary Silvestre Bello III handed over a total of P1.25 million to 500 workers who are set to benefit from the emergency employment program.

"Each beneficiary of DOLE's short term cash-for-work program received an initial payment of P2,500," it said.

It added that all the beneficiaries will get another P2,500 upon the completion of their work under the Tulong sa Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Distressed/Displaced Workers (Tupad).

Tupad is a program for informal sector workers, wherein they are engaged by the government in emergency employment and are paid with the minimum wage prevailing in their region.

The beneficiaries of the program were personally visited by Bello at the Malanday Elementary School, where the residents have been evacuated after Typhoon Ulysses flooded the low-lying areas of Marikina last Thursday, November 12.

At least 3,000 families or some 15,000 people have been forced to evacuate in Marikina City after the massive flooding brought about by the typhoon. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)