CASH AID FOR WORKERS. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional Office III provides some PHP581.84 million cash assistance to a total of 116,368 workers from 5,428 private establishments in Central Luzon. This is under the agency's Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) where private-sector workers affected by the enhanced community quarantine due to Covid-19 receive P5,000 each. (Photo by DOLE Regional Office-3)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – A total of 116,368 workers from 5,428 private establishments in Central Luzon have benefited from the Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
Under the DOLE’s CAMP, a cash assistance of PHP5,000 is provided to private-sector workers affected by the enhanced community quarantine imposed to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Private establishments that implemented flexible work arrangements (FWA) or temporary closure due to Covid-19 have applied for CAMP, where a total of PHP581.84 million has been disbursed by DOLE for worker-beneficiaries in the region.
DOLE Regional Director Zenaida Angara-Campita, in a statement released on Monday, said the PHP150-million allocation of Central Luzon was processed and already disbursed in the last week of April.
“Our last budget allocation was released to another 30,000 employees, bringing the total beneficiaries of CAMP to 116,368. These worker-beneficiaries come from 5,428 establishments around the region,” Angara-Campita said.
Out of the total figure, 1,671 establishments with 40,032 affected workers are from Pampanga; 1,066 establishments with 32,129 workers from Bulacan; 719 establishments with 10,013 workers from Nueva Ecija; 670 with 12,072 workers from Bataan; 616 with 12,693 workers from Zambales; 488 with 7,129 workers from Tarlac; and 198 establishments with 2,300 workers from Aurora.
Angara-Campita said the labor department has already utilized all of its remaining funds for CAMP.
“We regretfully announce to our clients that the list that we published today is the final list of establishments with approved CAMP applications in Region 3. With the limited resources that we have, we can no longer accommodate the other thousands of applications that we have received,” she said.
She thanked all the companies that submitted their CAMP applications for their efforts to help and support their employees amid the health crisis.
Meanwhile, Angara-Campita said establishments that are not in the said list are encouraged to apply for assistance under the Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) Program of the Department of Finance (DOF).
Under the SBWS, the government, through the Social Security System (SSS), shall provide a wage subsidy from PHP5,000 to PHP8,000 (based on the regional minimum wage) per month per eligible employee.
Applications will be completed by employers on behalf of their workers.
The SSS will only be accepting applications until May 8, 2020.
As part of the data-sharing agreement with DOF, Angara-Campita said that a list of all applicant-establishments that were not accommodated under CAMP will likewise be submitted to the said agency.
The DOLE suspended the application for CAMP due to depleted funds last April 15. (PNA)
