DOLE allots P65M more for NCR LGUs' contact tracing efforts

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Friday said it has earmarked an additional P65 million for the hiring of contact tracers in the National Capital Region, the epicenter of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

“The local governments through their respective Public Employment Service Offices (PESO) can boost their contact tracing with the additional funding for 1,000 more tracers,” Labor Secretary Silvestro Bello said in a statement.

Bello said the additional fund comes from DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged and/or Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program, which now totals P295 million for the close to 6,000 contact tracers.

TUPAD is a cash-for-work program of the DOLE meant to aid informal workers displaced by the pandemic.

DOLE has since transformed the program for contact tracing of LGUs.

As of 22  April 2021, contact tracing applications received by LGUs reached more then 10,000, according to the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC)

Bello said, “The Labor department will extend all the necessary assistance it can provide to LGUs to strengthen our fight against the pandemic.”

“In doing this, I hope that we clearly deliver the message that partnerships are relevant in beating the virus and pursuing national recovery,” he added.

Moreover, he said: “Since the DILG has problems funding the contact tracing of LGUs, I thought it wise to offer our TUPAD program for that purpose. In this manner, we are not only providing emergency employment to our displaced workers but also helping the urgent need of the community to stop the spread of the disease through contact tracing.”  —Ted Cordero/LBG, GMA News