Photo courtesy of Department of Labor and Employment
BACOLOD CITY – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 6 (Western Visayas) has disbursed more than PHP119 million in cash assistance to workers affected by quarantine measures amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis.
As of Thursday, the DOLE-6 has assisted 23,867 beneficiaries from 1,412 establishments in the region’s six provinces, based on the latest data dated May 14 released by the labor agency.
Qualified workers get to receive one-time cash assistance of PHP5,000 under the Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program or CAMP.
In a statement, the DOLE asked for the understanding of employers and workers who have yet to receive the cash aid.
“We seek a full understanding of employers and workers who were unable to receive assistance. The requests simply ballooned beyond the capacity of DOLE’s resources. The situation was aggravated by the extension of the enhanced community quarantine up to 30 April,” it said.
The labor department also said it is “working closely with other agencies, including Congress, for an immediate alternative program to help ease the burden on the greater number of workers who did not benefit from CAMP.”
The DOLE-6 list showed that Iloilo has the most number of beneficiaries at 9,080 workers from 379 establishments, who received a total of PHP45.621 million in disbursed funds.
Negros Occidental has 5,402 beneficiaries from 439 establishments, with PHP27.190 million in approved cash assistance.
Capiz has 2,837 beneficiaries from 265 establishments (PHP14.274 million); Aklan, 4,905 beneficiaries from 155 establishments (PHP24.669 million); Antique, 1,370 from 145 establishments (PHP6.850 million); and Guimaras, 273 beneficiaries from 29 establishments (PHP1.369 million).
The recipients are workers affected by flexible working arrangements and the temporary closure of these establishments amid the Covid-19 crisis.
The cash assistance is released through the DOLE’s partner-money transfer service outlets, which sends a text notice to the recipient once the money is already available.
The CAMP initiative is the labor agency’s safety net that seeks to provide financial support to affected workers as a measure to mitigate the adverse economic impact and reduction of income. (PNA)
