DOLE prepares P1.2-B standby fund for income augmentation of public transpo drivers

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has set aside over one billion pesos for a program aimed at providing income augmentation for public transportation workers to be affected by rising fuel prices amid the global oil crisis.

At the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel, DOLE Undersecretary Benedicto Ernesto Bitonio said that the Labor Department has a “special initiative” in together with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), which will be piloted starting next week.

“We are developing this program that we are supporting… this would be for income augmentation of jeepney drivers,” Bitonio said.

“Initially we set aside P1.2 billion standby fund for that specific intervention,” he said.

The DOLE official said the agency is preparing the guidelines for the intervention.

He said that the intervention was meant to ensure that public transportation will not be paralyzed so as not to further aggravate the expected economic slowdown due to the global oil price shock.

The DOLE official clarified that the agency’s intervention such as its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program —emergency cash-for-work for displaced workers— will continue as part of efforts to respond to the crisis as the government prepares for the rise in the number of vulnerable workers.

“One of our primary objectives is to preserve employment… We are encouraging the private sector to adopt measures including flexible work arrangements,” Bitonio said. —VAL, GMA News