3.6K workers benefit from DOLE’s emergency employment

By Danica D. Caballero

LEGAZPI CITY --- At least 3,698 informal workers in Legazpi City and Guinobatan town in this province benefitted from the emergency employment under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on February 8 and 9.

The DOLE allotted a total of P13,497,700 for the program where each beneficiary would receive P3,650 in wages for a 10-day community service in their respective areas. The beneficiaries included small vendors, farmers, drivers, fisherfolk, laborers, and women earning insufficient income engaged in community service.

The DOLE said that the work program focused on social community projects, such as repair, maintenance, and/or improvement of common public facilities and infrastructures in schools and health centers, debris clearing, de-clogging of canals, debris segregation, and materials recovery, stockpiling and clearing, waste management, coastal clean-up drive, and community vegetable gardening.

Beneficiaries in mountainous areas engaged in tree planting, road clearing, community gardening, and clean-up drives. Meanwhile, those along the coastal areas participated in coastal clean-up and community gardening.

Informal workers in Guinobatan town in Albay receive assistance under the DOLE’s TUPAD program on February 9, 2023. (Photo courtesy of DOLE Bicol)

Through these community projects, the program was able to create jobs that allowed informal workers to earn a living and support their families. It also provided a valuable service to the communities, helping to improve public facilities and infrastructure while cleaning up the environment and promoting healthy living.

The workers were among the hardest hit by the economic disruptions caused by the pandemic, and the TUPAD program offered a vital lifeline to help them and their families get by during these difficult times.

In addition, beneficiaries were enrolled in group insurance for social security, provided with personal protective equipment (PPEs), and underwent orientation prior to their employment. The DOLE’s focus on health and safety was an important factor in ensuring that the program was able to operate safely during the pandemic.

The TUPAD program is part of the government’s efforts to alleviate poverty and reduce inequality by providing emergency employment to help mitigate the impact of economic disruptions on the country’s informal sector. (With reports Maria Christina Angela Pielago, Bicol University intern/PIA 5)