More than 800,000 informal sector workers are expected to benefit from the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/ Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program of the Department of Labor and Employment with the passage of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2).
"We have proposed P6 billion which will benefit 863,667 beneficiaries," DoLE Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC) Director Ma. Karen Trayvilla said in an online forum Monday.
"Initially, the request of our Financial and Management Service is about P4 billion," she added.
Trayvilla said they will prioritize those unable to benefit from Bayanihan 1.
"We have more than 500,000 unserved applicants. And, under Bayanihan 2, the instruction is to prioritize those that were unable to benefit under Bayanihan 1," she said.
Last month, Trayvilla said DoLE was allocated P13 billion in the Bayanihan 2.
She, however, said that this is not only for TUPAD as it also covers COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) for the formal sector workers and the Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP) program for overseas Filipino workers.
Trayvilla said as a COVID-19 intervention program, the beneficiaries will work for more than 10 days and will be given a wage equivalent to the prevailing minimum wage in the region.
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.