Iriga City – Some 40,000 workers who have been displaced due to the three typhoons that consecutively hit Bicol region are provided with emergency employment under the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/ Displaced Workers (TUPAD).
DOLE allocated a total of 200 million for the six provinces that have been badly affected by the recent typhoons, specifically Albay, Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Masbate and Sorsogon. The fund is rolled out to primarily assist informal sector workers who lost their livelihood and have no means of earning a daily income.
DOLE Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III ordered to fast track the profiling and payment of some 40,000 worker-beneficiaries across the Bicol region.
“Kung maaari i-advance na ang bayad sa kanila (TUPAD workers) nang sa ganun matanggap na nila ang asistensya, lalung-lalo na kailangan ng ating kababayan dito at ilang bagyo ang dumaan sainyo,” Bello said during the payout of wages and awarding of free bisekleta in Legazpi City on Saturday.
He added that wages should be released in full, amounting to P5,000 for each worker to help alleviate their financial burden.
Moreover, DOLE Regional Director Joel Gonzales said the work of the beneficiaries ranged from repairing their homes, cleaning their surroundings, parks, and schools – simple activities that would help make them start over.
RD Gonzales also asked the local government officials to make the profiling thorough to ensure that the deserving and those from less accessible areas can benefit from the program.
(Source: DOLE Bicol)