DOLE aims to finish distribution of COVID-19 cash aid before Christmas

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Wednesday it plans to complete the distribution of cash assistance to workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic before Christmas.

“Ang utos po ng aming kalihim ay ubusin ‘yung pera bago mag-Pasko. Ibig sabihin, ibigay sa mga naapektuhan ng pandemya at mga kalamidad iyong tulong na para po sa kanila,” Labor Undersecretary Benjo Santos Benavidez said at the Laging Handa briefing.

More than 93% of the P16-billion allocation of the agency for the assistance to workers in the formal and informal sectors, including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), has already been downloaded to its regional and overseas offices as mandated by the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act

The assistance includes financial aid under the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) and Abot Kamay Ang Pagtulong (AKAP) Program; emergency employment under Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) Program; and livelihood assistance under DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP).

Through CAMP, affected workers, regardless of their employment status, will be receiving a one-time financial assistance equivalent worth P5,000.

TUPAD aims to provide temporary employment to workers in the informal sector who were displaced or whose earnings were affected due to the pandemic.

The DOLE has also been extending a one-time P10,000 or $200 cash aid under the AKAP program to OFWs whose incomes were affected by the global health crisis. —Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News