By Leslie Ann Aquino
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said thousands of displaced workers are demoralized because they have yet to receive financial aid from the government.
In a statement, TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said affected employees are irate and are very displeased at the turtle pace their employers and the labor officials are processing the emergency cash assistance.
He was referring to the P5,000 one-time cash assistance or the COVID-19 Adjustment Measure Program (CAMP) of the Labor department.
Tanjusay said the displaced workers are also losing faith in the system.
"Three weeks into the lockdown, many of the displaced workers are demoralized as they have yet to receive cash aid from the government. There is no assurance that they will still be able to get it," he said.
Tanjusay said these workers won't be able to endure more if the lockdown is extended.
"Due to the small number that were able to benefit from DOLE's cash assistance, workers won't be able to endure an extension of the Luzon-wide lockdown," he said.
"If this situation will continue and the lockdown is extended, workers will be angry at the President and their trust in the government will diminish further," added Tanjusay.
On Tuesday, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said an estimated 630,000 employees from 15,213 enterprises were affected by the government's enhanced community quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic.