Over P59 million worth of financial assistance was disbursed by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to benefit around 5,000 informal sector workers in the National Capital Region (NCR).
In a news statement issued last Wednesday, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III disclosed of the said amount, P21.17 million was used for the implementation of their “BikeCination Project” in Pasay City.
The project provides free bikes and mobile phones with load cards to help vaccinated informal sector workers engage in food delivery services.
Bello explained this is part of their initiative to encourage more people to be inoculated against Covid-19.
DOLE also allocated P35.43 million to pay the wages of the 3,551 beneficiaries of its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program in Marikina, Pateros, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Pasig and Manila.
TUPAD is DOLE’s emergency employment program for informal sector workers.
Its beneficiaries are paid the minimum wage in exchange for work, which lasts between 10 and 15 days.
Another 330 beneficiaries received livelihood grants amounting to P2.5 million under the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program.
Bello urged the beneficiaries of the said programs to properly make use of the assistance they got from DOLE. 30