CASH AID. (From L-R) Marinduque Governor Presbitero Velasco, DOT Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat, Huland Bakery Representative Leoveigildo C. Quintana Jr., House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, and DOLE Marinduque Provincial Director Peter James Cortazar lead the distribution of cash assistance to workers affected by the pandemic in Marinduque on Friday (May 21, 2021). Sixteen workers from the Huland Bakery are among the 3,390 tourism workers in the province approved to receive the DOT-DOLE cash aid. (Photo courtesy of DOT)
MARINDUQUE – A total of 3,390 tourism workers in the province of Marinduque were approved to receive PHP5,000 each for a total payout of PHP16.95 million under the government’s cash aid program for workers displaced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat on Friday personally awarded the certificates of the Department of Tourism (DOT)-Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) cash assistance program to some 346 beneficiaries.
She was joined by House Speaker Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco, Gov. Presbitero J. Velasco Jr., mayors, and local tourism and labor officials.
The assistance is the second tranche of the Bayanihan 2 Act, the government’s economic recovery program. It allocated a total of PHP3 billion in direct cash assistance to displaced workers in the country’s tourism industry, including those in the informal sector.
“The DOT will continue to do what it can to improve the state of this industry and make it stronger and more resilient to withstand further challenges and threats. We are here with you, and we are here for you,” she said.
The ceremony was held at the Provincial Capitol Park which was attended by 20 representatives of the 346 tourism workers.
For the MIMAROPA region, which consists of the provinces of Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan, the target number of beneficiaries is 67,600 with an allocation of PHP338 million.
Of the 66,127 approved applicants in the region, a total of 27,367 have received cash assistance amounting to PHP136.8 million. The rest are awaiting payout of a total of PHP193.8 million.
Tourism businesses are also covered by the Bayanihan 2 program with 51 applications already approved for the soft loans managed by the Small Business Corporation (SBCorp) of the Department of Trade and Industry.
These are interest-free, collateral-free loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). A total of PHP16 million has been released in the region under this soft loan facility. (PR)
