Boracay workers affected by shutdown to receive monthly cash aid —DOLE

Workers in Boracay affected by the six-month closure of the island will receive a monthly cash assistance from the government, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Wednesday.

In a statement, the DOLE said affected workers will be given monthly financial assistance of P4,205.50 for a maximum of six months. This is equivalent to half of the prevailing minimum wage in Region VI.

Aside from that, affected workers will also "be provided access to available job opportunities suitable to their qualifications through job matching, referral, and placement services, either local or overseas employment, employment coaching, and labor market information," DOLE said.

The assistance, however, will only be made available to those which will be accepted in the Boracay Emergency Employment Program (BEEP).

To qualify, workers must be employed in the Boracay island or other parts of Malay in Aklan whose employment was "interrupted" during the temporary closure.

This includes those who currently do not receive regular wage due to temporary suspension, the permanent cessation of operations, or the permanent closure of the employer's business establishment.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier approved the recommendation to close the island of Boracay for six months to make way for its rehabilitation starting April 26.

This came after the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Tourism (DOT) last month recommended the total closure of the island for six months.

According to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, the six-month closure of the island would cost the economy as much as P1.96 billion. —Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/KBK, GMA News