DINALUPIHAN, Bataan — An online seller in Bataan was able to use the financial assistance from Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the growth of her business to continuously provide for her family.
Shaira Joy Timoteo Macalalad was one of those who benefited from DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Displaced/Disadvantaged Workers Program #Barangay Ko, Bahay Ko! (TUPAD #BKBK) Disinfecting/Sanitation Project.
A mother of two and resident of Barangay Pag-asa, Dinalupihan, Macalalad reached out to the Public Employment Service Office for the program as one of her means to further finance the needs of her family.
TUPAD #BKBK aims to mitigate the impacts of the implemented Enhanced Community Quarantine due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic to the informal worker sector in the country.
Macalalad said she worked four hours a day in a period of 10 days by sanitizing their house and immediate vicinity. On April 21, she received her salary amounting to PhP4,200.
“I am very much grateful for the continuous financial support provided by the national government, especially for my children and for my business,” she said in an interview.
The 24-year-old mother said she invested the cash aid for her small online business of selling home-prepared snacks such as spaghetti, rice cake, pancit noodles and other sweet delicacies, which she started in January 2019.
The online business is her main source of income to support her family as her husband takes care of their children including their six-year-old son who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia.
She expressed that her son’s condition, which is a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow, serves as her inspiration to continue providing for her family’s needs.
“It’s really exhausting, but thinking about my son fighting this disease, I continue to endure anything,” she added.
As of May 20, about 2,936 individuals from Bataan were provided with financial support under the TUPAD #BKBK program.
For the entire Central Luzon, more than PhP105 million were distributed to a total 24,469 informal sector workers, including Aurora with 4,232 beneficiaries, Bulacan with 3,290 beneficiaries, Nueva Ecija with 2,951 beneficiaries, Pampanga with 5,448 beneficiaries, Tarlac with 3,957 beneficiaries, and Zambales with 1,655 beneficiaries.