DOLE readies cash aid, emergency employment under Level 3

MANILA – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will provide assistance anew to formal and informal sector workers who will be affected by the implementation of the Alert Level 3 classification in Metro Manila from January 3 to 15.

DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the affected workers will benefit from its amelioration programs, Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP), and Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced (TUPAD) workers.

“We can only extend to them the so-called amelioration fund for informal workers. With the formal workers, what we will do is to utilize some portions of our CAMP. For all our workers who will be temporarily displaced because of the new strict protocols, they will be given jobs,” he said in a virtual forum on Monday.

Under CAMP, beneficiaries will receive a one-time cash assistance of PHP5,000.

“The names must be provided by the employers, who will also give the cash assistance to their employees,” Bello added.

TUPAD for informal sector workers is an emergency employment for 10 days.

“These are the self-employed like tricycle drivers and vendors. They have no formal employment so we give them work for 10 days and they will be paid after,” he said.

Bello added that employers from the tourism and food industry have already approached them regarding the implementation of Alert Level 3.

“Many have asked for assistance. Restaurant industries are affected by the 30-percent capacity rule so they will only break even. We can understand if they will temporarily dislodge some of their workers,” he said.

Bello added that they can only provide work to 30,000 to 40,000 from the estimated 100,000 workers, as per the Department of Trade and Industry data, who will be affected by the two-week protocol.