SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique -- Christmas is not at all bleak for some 16,400 Antiqueños who landed jobs through the Tulong Panghanabuhay Para sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
DOLE Antique provincial director Melisa S. Navarra said in an interview Tuesday that the beneficiaries rendered 15 days of work under the TUPAD last November in 18 municipalities of the province.
DOLE central office has allotted PHP98 million for its implementation, she said.
“Most of the TUPAD workers were into cleaning of the drainage system and clearing of the farm to market roads because of the fallen tree branches due to the recent monsoon rains,” Navarra said.
Others were engaged in planting of seedlings and other tasks considered as priority in their barangays.
“Most of the municipalities are already ending their TUPAD today,” Navarra said, adding that the program beneficiaries are given a daily wage of PHP365.
"The TUPAD workers will soon receive their pay through the money centers by showing their identification cards,” Navarra said.
The money centers in their nearest areas will be identified by DOLE-Antique so that they could receive their pay for their 15-day work by next week or just before Christmas Day. (PNA)
