MANILA – Some 700,000 workers from the informal sector would benefit from funds allocated to the Department of Labor and Employment under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2), an official said Thursday.
“For example, if the allocation given to TUPAD (Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers) would be PHP5 billion and the workdays, we increased to 15 days from 10 days. At PHP5 billion, approximately we will have 700,000 beneficiaries to benefit from the TUPAD program,” Ma. Karina Perida-Trayvilla, chief of the DOLE’s Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BSWC), said in a Laging Handa briefing.
She also reported that over 600,000 informal sector workers have benefitted from the program.
“Based on our data, a total of 604,901 benefitted from the program, out of this around 423,511 they were employed under #barangaykobahayko disinfection, sanitation program in their houses. The bulk of the beneficiaries or workers are from the National Capital Region,” Trayvilla added.
She said under the program, a beneficiary will be working for four hours a day for 15 days. The worker will be given a salary equivalent to the highest prevailing minimum wage in the region where the project is being implemented.
“Applicants may go to their local government thru the public employment service offices or to the nearest DOLE regional office, to apply for the program,” she added.
The TUPAD program is a community-based package of short-term wage employment assistance of the department to mitigate the impact of calamities, disasters, and pandemics on workers in the informal economy.
It is open to workers who have lost their jobs due to pandemic. Also included are self-employed such as home-based workers, vendors.
Aside from TUPAD, the DOLE also implemented the Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) and Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP) to help formal sector workers and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), respectively.
The CAMP provides a one-time cash subsidy of PHP5,000 to formal sector workers affected by the pandemic.
The AKAP program is a one-time PHP10,000 (USD200) cash assistance for displaced OFWs.
It was reported that the allocation given to the DOLE under Bayanihan 2 is at PHP13 billion.