DOLE targets to give P1.5-B cash assistance this week to workers affected by COVID-19 measures

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is targeting to distribute cash assistance worth P1.5 billion to its qualified beneficiaries this week amid the ongoing threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the country.

In a Dobol B sa News TV interview, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III reported that the department has already given out around P441 million worth of cash assistance to employees across the country who are not able to go to work due to quarantine measures of the government.

"Ito nabigyan na sila so dumadami na. Ine-expect namin, within the week, itong week na ito, makapagbigay kami, ang preferred naming amount is P1.5 billion," he said.

According to Bello, the DOLE is implementing a number of programs to help workers whose livelihood are imperiled by the COVID-19 situation.

For one, tricycle drivers affected by the suspension of mass transportation in Luzon amid the enhanced community quarantine may avail of the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged or Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.

TUPAD is a community-based package assistance providing emergency employment for displaced workers, underemployed and seasonal workers for a minimum of 10 days but not more than 30 days. 

Tricycle drivers availing of the TUPAD program only need to register with their respective barangay captains, Bello said.

Meanwhile, overseas Filipino workers who are forced to return to the country are likewise given assistance, the labor secretary said.

"'Yung mga OFW na nagdadatingan, siyempre unang-una, ma-quarantine 'yung mga 'yan for 14 days. Kaya punung-puno na itong mga hotels natin. Nag-alok naman si Sec. [Carlito] Galvez," he said.

"'Yung mga barko puwede na ring gamitin sa mga OFWs na nagdadatingan lalong-lalo na ang mga seafarers natin, dahil sanay 'yan sa dagat. Doon sila iqu-quarantine for 14 days at mabigyan din sila ng assistance," he added.

Workers in hotels, resorts and restaurants who were forced to temporarily shut down operations are also given cash assistance by the DOLE, Bello said.

Even Filipino workers in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations are covered by assistance from the government, he added.

"Mabibigyan din ng tulong yan. Sa TUPAD namin 'yan sana pero binigay na rin sa DSWD 'yan, sa kanilang programa," Bello said.

Under the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, which grants President Rodrigo Duterte a special authority to address the COVID-19 situation, around 18 million low-income households belonging to the informal sector will be targeted to receive monthly emergency subsidies amounting to P5,000 to P8,000 for two months.

The assistance will be "computed based on the prevailing regional minimum wages rates."

The law also provides for an expanded and enhanced Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program, responsive to the needs of those affected by the enhanced community quarantine. —KG, GMA News