FINANCIAL AID. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat (left) on Monday (Dec. 21, 2020) hands over a certificate of entitlement to financial aid to a strawberry farm vendor from La Trinidad town in a simple ceremony in Baguio City on Monday (Dec. 21, 2020). An initial 10,555 workers from the tourism industry and other related sectors from Baguio City and four other towns in Benguet received aid from the DOT and DOLE's aid program pursuant to the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act. (PNA photo by Liza T. Agoot)
BAGUIO CITY – An initial 10,555 workers from tourism-related stakeholder industries and organizations affected by the pandemic received their certificate of eligibility to get PHP5,000 cash aid from the government on Monday.
The beneficiaries are from the creative arts and crafts sector, vendors sector, farming or livestock sector, events and entertainment, accommodation sector, wellness and personal care, and restaurant sector in Baguio, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, and Tuba (BLIST).
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat led the turnover of certificates of eligibility to the organizations and sectors in a simple event at the Wright Park Gazebo, here.
Puyat said the DOT has endorsed 26,972 workers from the tourism industry to receive financial assistance while the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in the region has approved the application of 10,555 workers. The applications of the other beneficiaries are being processed.
She said they hope to get more names especially with the implementation of Republic Act 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One law extended to 2021.
The certificates issued by Puyat which were received by organization-beneficiaries say “we are pleased to inform you that the members of your association will be receiving a cash subsidy amounting to PHP5,000 thru the Department of Labor and Employment.”
The associations and establishments submitted a list of beneficiaries which identifies the individual person who will receive the PHP5,000. Under the Bayanihan 2, DOT-DOLE received PHP3 billion for aid to workers. BLIST was allotted PHP134.86 million was allotted for the BLIST towns.
“We want to add more because we don’t want to return the money to the national government. This was allotted for those in the sector, let us give it to the beneficiaries. We call on the affected tourism-stakeholder workers to have themselves listed,” she said. "Tourism is the most affected sector and about four million people displaced or suffering from reduced income."
She clarified that the money which will be given is aid and not cash for work financial assistance where the beneficiary has to give back something in terms of work or time.
Workers who were given assistance are DOT-accredited establishments or organizations directly linked to tourism, LGU licensed establishments or organizations, secondary establishments linked to tourism and the media.
Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong during the program also said that the tourism industry of the city is not a stand-alone as it directly connects to the BLIST towns which also have their own tourism industry.
The La Trinidad strawberry farms are located six kilometers away from Baguio's Central business district while the rose gardens are located about eight kilometers away. The biggest trading post is about five kilometers away.
Magalong thanked the DOT for its continued assistance even during the pandemic.
The DOT allotted funds worth PHP7. 2 million for the city's tourism promotion, being the first destination to open its borders to tourists.
Another PHP7 million was provided for the signages at the parks and for the Covid-19 antigen test pilot testing in the city that will benefit all local destinations in the country. (PNA)
