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PDLs’ dependents, parolees among TUPAD beneficiaries in P’sinan

By Hilda Austria

May 26, 2023, 1:19 pm

<p><strong>TUPAD WORKERS</strong>. Officials of the city government of Alaminos in Pangasinan headed by Mayor Arth Brian Celeste (5th from left) and Department of Labor and Employment Ilocos regional director Ronnie De Guzman (5th from right) pose with the beneficiaries of Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) during the pre-deployment program in a gymnasium in Alaminos City on Thursday (May 25, 2023). The program beneficiaries include those who are under crisis, dependents of persons deprived of liberty and parolees and probationers. <em>(Photo courtesy of Alaminos City LGU)</em></p>
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TUPAD WORKERS. Officials of the city government of Alaminos in Pangasinan headed by Mayor Arth Brian Celeste (5th from left) and Department of Labor and Employment Ilocos regional director Ronnie De Guzman (5th from right) pose with the beneficiaries of Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) during the pre-deployment program in a gymnasium in Alaminos City on Thursday (May 25, 2023). The program beneficiaries include those who are under crisis, dependents of persons deprived of liberty and parolees and probationers. (Photo courtesy of Alaminos City LGU)

 

ALAMINOS CITY, Pangasinan–Some 709 residents in this city, who are under crisis, dependents of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs), as well as parolees and probationers under the law, were chosen as beneficiaries of the cash-for-work program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

“Maganda para sa mga kagaya naming kinakapos nakakatulong sa mga pamumuhay namin. Para sa mga anak na nag-aaral (This is good for people like us who are struggling financially as it would help in our daily needs. This will be for my children who are studying),” said Julius Versoza, 59, one of the parolee-beneficiaries, in an interview on Friday.

Versoza, along with other beneficiaries, will start working on Friday for 10 days and would earn PHP400 a day.

The program is under the DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) which provides temporary employment to displaced workers, underemployed, and seasonal workers.

Mayor Arth Brian Celeste said on Friday that they are grateful for this program of the national government.

“Malaking tulong ito sa kanila since makakaprovide na sila sa kanilang family habang sila ay nasa loob since limited ang source of income nila (This is a big help to them to be able to provide for their families while they are inside the facility since they have limited source of income),” he said in an interview.

The mayor added that the program is beneficial also to the locality as this could help in terms of manpower for the de-clogging of rivers or creeks in their communities to prevent possible flooding amid the incoming typhoon, and in maintaining the cleanliness of the national park.

DOLE Alaminos field officer Mhel Santiago Gaspar, in an interview during the pre-deployment program on Thursday, said the beneficiaries are tasked to help in the maintenance of the Hundred Islands National Park and the creeks or rivers in their barangays as well as in other designated areas.

“They will be monitored closely to ensure that they are really working. This is not a dole-out but they really have to work for it,” he said.

Aside from their salaries, the beneficiaries will have their own life insurance covering a year and personal protective equipment to fight the heat of the sun or the rain while they are working.

The inclusion of the PDLs’ dependents as beneficiaries was the brainchild of Pangasinan (1st district) Rep. Arthur Celeste since the PDLs have no source of income for their families while their cases are under trial. (PNA)

 

 

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