Some 700,000 informal sector workers may benefit from the emergency employment program Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE).
This will be realized if the program will be given a budget of P5 billion, Atty. Ma. Karina Perida-Trayvilla, Director of the DOLE-Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC) said Thursday.
"In the Bayanihan 2, DoLE was allocated P13 billion. But this is not only for TUPAD, it also covers CAMP (COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program) for the formal sector workers, and overseas Filipino workers whether onsite or repatriated," she said during the Laging Handa press briefing.
"Right now it has not been finalized yet how much is the allocation for the recovery programs CAMP, TUPAD and AKAP (Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong) program for OFWs," added Trayvilla.
"But if for example we are given an allocation of P5 billion for TUPAD…at P5 billion approximately we have 700,000 beneficiaries to benefit from the TUPAD program," she said.
According to Trayvilla, as a COVID-19 intervention program, the beneficiaries will work for 4 hours daily for 15 days.
"They will be given a wage equivalent to the highest prevailing minimum wage in the region," she said.
Trayvilla said those who wish to avail of the program should get in touch with the local government through the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) or the DoLE regional office.
The Labor department implemented a TUPAD - Barangay Ko, Bahay Ko (BKBK) program after the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon.
Last May, DoLE said TUPAD BKBK benefited more than 300, 000 workers who were paid the minimum wage in their respective areas for 10 days of disinfection and sanitation work of their dwellings and immediate vicinity.
TUPAD is a short-term emergency employment program of the DoLE to mitigate the impact of calamities, disasters and epidemics on workers in the informal economy.