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DOLE allots P10-M for emergency employment of 'Usman' victims

By Connie Calipay

January 16, 2019, 3:39 pm


LEGAZPI CITY -- The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 5 (Bicol) has allocated PHP10 million for the emergency employment of workers displaced by Tropical Depression Usman, which caused massive landslides in several parts of the region last December 29-30.

“The amount is intended to provide around 3,000 affected and displaced workers and their families with immediate short-term income support under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD),” DOLE-5 director, Alvin Villamor, said Tuesday.

Under the TUPAD program, the beneficiaries will be provided emergency employment in the form of community work with a minimum salary of PHP305 a day for 15 days.

DOLE-5 has been conducting a rapid profiling of displaced workers in the affected provinces, with Sagñay in Camarines Sur and Tiwi in Albay as priority areas because these were hit by landslides and floods caused by "Usman".

“These affected workers are mostly farmers and farm workers who reside near the slopes of the mountainous areas of Sagñay, Camarines Sur and Tiwi, Albay, which really need immediate assistance, by giving them temporary employment while still coping with the devastation brought by TD Usman,” Villamor added.

He also said they are looking into the possibility of providing regular livelihood to the families of displaced workers through the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) to help them recover from the damages caused by the typhoon.

“We are ready to augment assistance through emergency employment from the regular TUPAD fund to those families affected by the calamity that may fall short from the list of priority worker-victims,” Villamor said.

In addition, the families of active OFWs affected by the calamity will be provided with PHP3,000 worth of assistance from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) while PHP1,500 will be given to the families of inactive OFWs.

“DOLE is here to aid the affected families, but we cannot do it alone. We have to do this through convergence with the local government units, government agencies, private sectors and cooperation of the people,” he said. (PNA)

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