3.4M workers get almost P30-B cash aid via Bayanihan laws: DOLE

MANILA – The government has provided close to PHP30-billion financial assistance to over 3 million local and overseas workers affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said.

Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay, in a Laging Handa briefing Friday, said some PHP28.8 billion under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan 1) and the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) were allocated to extend cash aid to formal and informal sector employees and OFWs stranded here and displaced abroad.

“Under Bayanihan 1 and 2, we have about PHP28.8 billion financial assistance to some 3.4 million workers from the formal sector, informal sector, and also the repatriated OFWs,” she said.

Tutay was referring to the department’s three major programs — the Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP), Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) Program, and the Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP).

“For CAMP which is a one-time cash assistance worth PHp5,000, we were able to provide for 1.6 million workers from the formal sector,” she said.

“Under TUPAD, the emergency employment for the informal sector, we were able to assist 1.4 million informal sector workers,” the DOLE official added.

Tutay said the PHP10,000 (USD200) cash aid provided under AKAP helped 427,000 OFWs.

She reported that based on their monitoring, over 4 million workers in the country have been affected by the pandemic.

“Based on our monitoring on job displacement, more than 420,000 workers have permanently lost their jobs and there are 4.5 million workers affected by flexible work arrangement and temporary closure,” she said.