DOLE: 35K workers affected by El Niño given temporary jobs

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) provided alternative livelihoods to more than 35,000 workers affected by the El Niño phenomenon as of this month.

In a pre-Labor Day press briefing, DOLE Undersecretary Benjo Benavidez said the affected individuals were temporarily employed under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers or TUPAD Program.

They were from the Cordillera Administrative Region and Mimaropa, as well as Regions I, III, IV-A, VI, IX, and X.

“Meron tayong mga kababayang [naapektuhan] ng El Niño at dahil dun nawalan sila ng trabaho. Binigyan natin sila ng tinatawag natin na temporary wage employment under the TUPAD,” Benavidez said.

(Some of our fellow Filipinos lost their jobs due to El Niño, so they were given temporary wage employment under the TUPAD.)

“Tuloy-tuloy po ang ating tulong na ibinibigay sa mga kababayan na apektado ng El Niño. Sa katunayan, malaking bahagi ng TUPAD payouts ay para sa mga kababayan nating naapektuhan ng El Niño,” he added.

(We will continue to assist those who have been affected by El Niño. In fact, a huge chunk of our TUPAD payouts for Labor Day will go to them.)

At least P163 million was allocated for the salaries of the beneficiaries.

The El Niño phenomenon is characterized by the abnormal warming of sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and below-normal rainfall.

On Wednesday, the government's Task Force El Niño said at least 100 Philippine cities and municipalities have been affected by the El Niño phenomenon. — VBL, GMA Integrated News