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Additional P5-B needed for COVID-19 assistance programs – DOLE


The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it would need another P5 billion to finance the assistance programs for workers affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

"The Labor Department would need another P5 billion for the remainder of the month to help more workers affected by the COVID 19 crisis which has ballooned to more than 600,000 based on DOLE’s field monitoring reports," the department said in a statement

According to DOLE, it has already released some P622 million in assistance funds as of April 04, 2020, covering 180,000 workers affected by COVID-19.

The figure includes some 102,895 formal sector workers who have received the P5,000 cash assistance under the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) rolled out last month.

Meanwhile, some 8,000 workers were beneficiaries of the Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Displaced/Underprivileged Workers (TUPAD) program.

"DOLE hopes to aid more than 350,000 formal and informal sector workers by the middle of the month utilizing over P1.5 billion in assistance funds under CAMP and TUPAD," the department said.

Labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) last week called for the immediate release of financial assistance to the workforce, as it said only 8,641 workers have received P5,000 in cash grants during the past two weeks of the enhanced community quarantine.

For his part, President Rodrigo Duterte last week also announced that the government set aside P200 billion for low-income households affected by the ECQ. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM, GMA News

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