About P9,490,214 in emergency employment assistance was provided to 2,369 informal workers whose livelihood was affected by Typhoon Odette in Western Visayas, the Department of Labor and Employment said.
DOLE 6 regional director, Atty. Sixto Rodriguez Jr., said he directed all field offices to coordinate with partner local government units and fast track the implementation of the emergency employment assistance through TUPAD, or the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers.
It 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 30 days, depending on the nature of work, the DOLE said.
“We cannot bear to see the situation of those affected workers whose houses and livelihood were ravaged by the typhoon,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “Our field offices and TUPAD coordinators are processing the necessary requirements in the shortest time possible so that the beneficiaries can utilize the assistance intended for them the soonest.”
A P3,950 total wages for a 10-day work and an insurance coverage will benefit each of 711 workers from the local government units of Ilog (150), Cauayan (100), Kabankalan (100), Sipalay (161), Candoni (100), and Hinoba-an (100) in Negros Occidental.
Similar assistance was also provided to beneficiaries from other provinces that performed community work, such as clearing the areas affected by the typhoon.
Iloilo Province listed 545 beneficiaries from the southern town of San Joaquin.
TUPAD assistance also reached 405 vulnerable workers in two municipalities of Antique, namely, Tibiao (223) and San Remigio (172).
Capiz has 260 marginalized workers assisted from the municipalities of Pres. Roxas (90), Maayon (85), and Panay (85), the DOLE said.
The municipalities of New Washington and Buruanga in Aklan have 154 beneficiaries each, while in the province of Guimaras, 142 vulnerable workers were assisted in the towns of Buenavista, Nueva Valencia, San Lorenzo, and Sibunag.
Rodriguez said the wages of the workers could be used to buy materials for the repair of their homes, or for their basic needs.
He added that aside from the emergency assistance for Typhoon Odette victims, the DOLE Regional Office continuously implements TUPAD and other livelihood programs for qualified and deserving members of the informal sector to assist their economic condition while the country is recovering from the effects of the pandemic and other calamities./NND
