The Labor Department said that they have set aside Php19 billion this year for financial assistance to 2 million local workers and 500,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for 2021.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said that the original budget was only at Php16 billion but they received an additional Php3 billion from the Tourism Department for the workers affected in the tourism sector.
“Meron kaming mga total of P16 billion, nadagdagan pa ng P3 billion although this is the budget of the Department of Tourism because this is intended to provide assistance to those working in the tourism industry,” Bello said.
The implementation date for the disbursement of the financial assistance program has yet to be announced.
Bello added that they were tasked by the DOT to distribute the funds to the affected tourism workers.
The department has a budget of P5,000 for each qualified formal worker, or a person employed in a company. OFWs, on the other hand, are entitled to receive $200 financial assistance.
DOLE said that they also have a budget for those working in the informal sector.
“Yung mga self-employed kagaya ng mga tricycle drivers, sidewalk vendors, labandera, manikurista,” Bello said.
“They have been displaced also so we have to provide them assistance by providing them temporary employment from 10 to 15 days and pay them the minimum wage in the region where they come from,” he added.
