DOLE to hire over 30K workers affected by typhoon

FILE: Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) NCR Office. (File photo by Ramon FVelasquez/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

MANILA – More than 30,000 informal sector workers from the provinces badly hit by Typhoon Ulysses will get emergency employment from the government, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said on Monday.

DOLE Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay said the affected individuals will benefit under the department’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD).

The target workers are from Region 2 (Cagayan Valley), Region 4A (Calabarzon), Region 4B (Mimaropa), and Bicol Region.

“Probably 30,000 to 40,000 (are the target beneficiaries) on the areas that we have mentioned,” she said in an online forum.

Tutay said the funds that will be used for the typhoon victims will come from the Bayanihan 2 or Bayanihan to Recover As One Act (Republic Act 11494) signed by President Rodrigo Duterte two months ago to combat the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

“So far, I think it’s sufficient, the budget that was allocated to the program under Bayanihan 2.

We advised our regional directors to use up the funds and if they need additional, we are ready to provide it,” she said.

Under TUPAD, workers will be hired to clean up the province of debris and other obstructions brought by Typhoon Ulysses.

The beneficiaries will be paid based on the prevailing minimum wage in the province where they are employed.

The Bayanihan 2 has allocated PHP6 billion for the TUPAD program.