TARLAC CITY — About 4,771 Tarlac residents are set to benefit from the PhP 20 million emergency employment assistance of Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) through its Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.
DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the government continues to provide assistance to various sectors affected by the pandemic and recent typhoons.
“It is very much in these trying times that we, as public servants, have to intensify our efforts so we can bring to our people the appropriate programs that will help them in alleviating the difficulties as a result of loss of employment and livelihoods,” the official furthered.
Initially, a total of 1,031 workers have already received their salaries during the ceremonial payout.
Among the TUPAD beneficiaries is Anecia Teves who was unemployed since the community quarantine, and was dependent on the relief assistance of their barangay.
“I used to be a vendor in a school canteen, but I lost my job due to the pandemic. We are struggling to make both ends meet with the meager earnings of my husband who is a farmer. That’s why I am truly grateful to DOLE for choosing me as one of their beneficiaries,” Teves shared.
TUPAD is DOLE’s flagship program that provides 10 to 30 days of employment to displaced, underemployed and seasonal workers.
The same program was reinvigorated through Republic Act 11494 otherwise known as Bayanihan to Recover as Once Act as one of the government’s response to the devastating consequences of the global pandemic, both to the economy and to Filipinos’ standard of living.
For her part, Governor Susan Yap expressed her gratitude to DOLE for its continuous assistance to the province by allotting more than PhP 10 million of its TUPAD program prior to the lockdown in March.
“The provincial government of Tarlac has scheduled three batches of payout of wages from December 18 to 23. Aside from 180 beneficiaries from all the towns and city, DOLE also released the salaries of beneficiaries from the municipalities of Gerona (226 beneficiaries), Victoria (280 beneficiaries), San Jose (140 beneficiaries), and Tarlac City (205 beneficiaries),” Yap furthered.
On another note, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration turned-over PhP 780,000 to 78 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) PhP 90,000 to three OFW dependents under the DOLE AKAP program and Tabang OFW, respectively.
Moreover, 24 OFWs received various assistance from OWWA including livelihood, social benefits, and welfare assistance while 12 OFW dependents received scholarship assistance.
In her message, DOLE Regional Director Maria Zenaida Angara-Campita underscored their close coordination with partner agencies and local government units in the implementation various programs.
“Our goal is to be able to release our funds before the holidays and we’re working double and triple time to accomplish this,” Campita stated.
As of December 18, DOLE Region 3 already released over PhP598 million to 119,602 formal sector workers under COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program and P488.61 million to 87,002 workers under TUPAD Bayanihan 2.