TO BLOSSOM. The Department of Labor and Employment's Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) beneficiaries clean the area to be planted with flowers at the Dao Central School in Tobias Fornier, Antique in this undated photo. TUPAD workers and parents of school kids are helping in the "Let a Million Flowers Bloom" project of the Department of Education. (Photo courtesy of DepEd Antique)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – The Department of Education (DepEd) has tapped the services of parents hired under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) to realize its “Let a Million Flowers Bloom” project in Antique.
“Parents of our pupils who were hired by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Antique provincial office under their TUPAD program are now helping us plant flowers within the school premises,” said Evelyn Remo, DepEd Antique School Governance and Operations Division chief, in an interview on Friday.
On June 1, some 473 parents of students started planting bougainvilleas, yellow bells, sunflowers, and other flowering plants in 27 public schools in 15 municipalities in this province, Remo added.
“We have TUPAD work in the 15 municipalities that have lower coronavirus diseases 2019 (Covid-19) cases,” she said. Antique is subdivided into 18 municipalities.
Parents employed under the TUPAD program are those who had been displaced because of Covid-19 and are not beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
The "Let a Million Flowers Bloom" project aims to uplift the spirit of learners, parents, and teachers as well as to show gratitude and appreciation to teachers for all the hard work and dedication they have shown amid the pandemic to continue the delivery of quality education to learners, according to the DepEd Memorandum Order 521-0171 issued on May 24, 2021.
DOLE Antique provincial office director Carmella Abellar said in a separate interview that since June 1, some 3,808 TUPAD workers, including 473 who were assigned with DepEd, were hired for the school-greening project.
Abellar said that aside from TUPAD workers who are assigned in the schools, there were 200 Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel who will carry out repairs in municipal stations, while 130 Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) members and personnel of local government units (LGUs)will carry out clean-up activities.
The TUPAD workers received PHP395 minimum daily wage from DOLE. (PNA)
