The authorities have distributed Php10.45 billion under the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) job programs for local and overseas workers who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III in his report to President Rodrigo Duterte has said more than 2 million formal and informal sector workers and displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have benefited from the social programs.
He said the programs include Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP), Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) and Abot-Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP).
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He said that as part of the government’s social uplifting program under Bayanihan 1 and Bayanihan 2, the DOLE distributed PhP 5,000 as one-time financial assistance to 2,085,000 affected workers of private companies including those in the tourism industry and education sector.
He said the beneficiaries under CAMP are formal sector workers while over 1 million workers from the informal sector have benefited under TUPAD by getting emergency employment assistance. The beneficiaries were paid based on the prevailing minimum wage in the region where they were hired.
The authorities were able to provide jobs to over 1,300,000 workers in the informal sector with a total amount of Php6.8 billion on June 30.
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The OFWs who returned to the country and those who opted to stay in the host countries where they are employed were categorized as AKAP beneficiaries.
Under the AKAP, the DOLE distributed Php10,000 or USD 200 financial assistance to 536,764 displaced OFWs in the amount of Php5,441,000,000 as of July 2021. (AW)
