ROASTED RIDES. Smoke surfaces from the fire that razed one of the attractions beside the food stalls inside theme park Star City in Pasay City on Wednesday (Oct. 2, 2019). The DOLE said it will provide emergency employment assistance to some 500 employees of the amusement park. (Photo courtesy of Pasay City Command, Control, Communication and Information Center)
MANILA — A total of PHP5.5 million in emergency employment assistance is available to some 500 affected workers of Star City which was engulfed by a fire earlier this week, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Friday.
In a statement, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III noted that displaced workers will be provided jobs for two months under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.
Based on initial reports submitted by OIC-Assistant Secretary Dominique Rubia-Tutay and the findings of the Quick Response Team (QRT) of the DOLE National Capital Region (NCR), some 500 employees were left on a ‘no work, no pay’ situation.
Most of the affected workers are said to be performing administrative work. The displacement may run for six months.
The report added that the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) of Pasay will conduct profiling and assessment on the displaced workers for potential alternative employment.
The assistance is similar to that provided to employees of the gutted NCCC Mall in Davao City last year, those affected by the eruption of Mayon Volcano also in 2018, and the six-month closure of Boracay Island.
TUPAD is an emergency employment program for displaced workers, underemployed, and seasonal workers.
On Wednesday, a fire broke out destroying 80 to 90 percent of the amusement park located in the reclaimed area of the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex.
The facility which was established in 1991, is owned by Star Parks Corporation, a subsidiary of Elizalde Holdings Corporation. (PNA)
