DOLE to provide jobs to 3K ‘Usman’-hit workers in Bicol

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the agency has set aside an initial PHP10 million to provide displaced workers and their families with immediate short-term income support. (File photo: PNA)

MANILA — Around 3,000 affected workers displaced by Tropical Depression Usman in the Bicol Region will initially benefit from the emergency employment assistance of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the agency has set aside an initial PHP10 million to provide displaced workers and their families with immediate short-term income support.

The employment assistance is under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD).

“Most of the affected families of (Tropical Depression) Usman were farmers and farm workers, and we aim to provide immediate assistance to these affected workers by giving them temporary income-support while still coping up with the devastation brought by the typhoon,” Bello said in a statement Saturday.

Under the TUPAD Program, beneficiaries will be provided with emergency employment in the form of 10-day community work with a minimum salary of PHP305 a day.

Bello noted that they are also conducting profiling of displaced workers in priority areas including Sangay, Camarines Sur and in Tiwi, Albay, to further reach more employees affected by the calamity.

On Friday, Bello joined President Rodrigo Duterte in visiting devastated areas in Bicol to determine the needs of the affected communities.

Also, other assistance programs are available to the displaced workers, including skills training, livelihood assistance, as well as the provision of grants and loans to help them recover.

On the other hand, the families of active OFWs affected by calamity will be provided with PHP3,000 worth of assistance by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

The families of inactive OFWs will receive PHP1,500.