Over P300 million worth of cash assistance remain unclaimed by beneficiaries of the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) cash-assistance program for workers, affected by novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) since last year.
Of the said unclaimed amount, P111,804,920 are from the Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP), which provide workers in the formal sector a one-time P5,000 cash aid.
Also, still pending in the remittance centers and DOLE’s regional offices are the P109,210,000 for the Abot Kamay Ang Pagtulong for OFWs (AKAP) and the P81,785,924 from the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD).
AKAP is a one-time P10,000, or $200, financial assistance for overseas Filipino workers (OFW), while TUPAD is a temporary emergency employment for informal sector workers.
DOLE spokesman Rolly Francia said the unclaimed amount, which is taken from the funding of Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan 1) and Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2), should have benefited 49,598 workers.
He pointed among the common reason for the pending payment is that beneficiaries have either change or lost their phones.
“The reference code for claiming the benefits in remittance centers are sent through mobile number. The problem is many beneficiaries changed or lost their phones,” Francia said in an online news briefing on Wednesday.
He said there are also instances where some beneficiaries failed to provide their contact details.
Francia urged concerned workers to coordinate with their DOLE regional offices to avail of their financial benefits as soon as possible to avoid automatic forfeiture.
“It if it remains unclaimed, it will be reverted to the [Bureau of the] Treasury. I don’t know the deadline for this, but they should [file their] claim [at] the soonest possible time,” Francia stressed.
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