DOLE to start profiling of Bicol workers hit by Mayon’s activity

FILE: The TUPAD emergency employment assistance to be managed by the DOLE Bicol will benefit thousands of families displaced by Mayon volcano’s restiveness in seven towns and cities in Albay. (Photo: Department of Labor and Employment)

MANILA – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) would start the profiling of the beneficiaries of its emergency employment program for those affected by the continuing unrest of the Mayon Volcano in the Bicol region.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, in a statement Monday, said the profiling for the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program would start on Friday in all evacuation sites in Albay province.

The Bicolano workers affected by the calamity will be given emergency employment under the program which has an allocation of PHP50 million.

Under TUPAD, one member from each affected family will be paid PHP10,950 for 30 days doing community gardening near the evacuation centers, temporary shelter maintenance and housekeeping, as well as food preparation.

The TUPAD emergency employment assistance that would be managed by the DOLE-Bicol would benefit thousands of families displaced by the increasing volcanic activity in seven towns and cities in Albay.

“In collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Agriculture, profiled worker-evacuees would be paid by DOLE through TUPAD, to keep the evacuation centers clean, particularly the kitchen and the toilets; to do some vegetable gardening, and to help camp managers in preparing food in the evacuation sites,” she said in a statement.

“Afterwards, even if they have already returned to their homes, we can still help them in their livelihood,” the DOLE official added.

Earlier, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., together with DOLE officials, turned over the TUPAD assistance through a check amounting to PHP50 million to the local chief executives of the municipalities affected by the increasing volcanic activity after the Situation Briefing on Mayon Seismic Activity last June 14 at the Albay Astrodome in Legazpi City.

TUPAD is a community-based package of assistance that provides emergency employment for displaced workers, underemployed and seasonal workers, for a minimum period of 10 days, but not to exceed a maximum of 90 days, depending on the nature of work to be performed.

Meanwhile, Mayon Volcano is currently under Alert Level 3.

Of the total number of displaced families and individuals, 4,286 families or 15,017 persons have sought shelter in 22 evacuation centers, while 185 families or 659 persons are temporarily residing elsewhere, according to the Office of Civil Defense.

It also said that a total of 120 carabaos, cattle, and goats were moved to safer grounds from the danger zones in the municipalities of Daraga and Malilipot.