The Nego-Kart or Negosyo sa Kariton ("business on a cart") once again took center stage in a recent financial and livelihood assistance dole out by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Batangas.
A statement released by DOLE last March 6 said the agency, in partnership with the local government unit (LGU) of Lipa, Batangas, distributed Nego-Karts to 45 parents of child laborers.
The Nego-Kart is a project of the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP) that aims to assist ambulant vendors in making their business more sustainable.
Each mobile vending station costs at least P20,000. It has been a department staple even before the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic struck last year.
Meanwhle, Labor Sec. Silvestre Bello III also oversaw the local distribution of financial aid under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced workers (TUPAD), with the total dole out reaching P5.1 million.
Out of the figure, P2.9 million was allocated to Lipa, Bauan, and San Pascual in Batangas for the emergency employment of informal sector workers displaced by the pandemic.
During the payout ceremony in Bauan, 300 workers received their wages worth P4,000 each for the 10-day cash-for-work project. In a separate event at the Claro M. Recto Events Center in Lipa City, Senator Ralph Recto joined Bello in handing over the payment of 442 TUPAD beneficiaries, amounting to more than P1.7 million.
On top of the emergency employment and livelihood assistance, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has also extended a total of P900,000 to OFWs and their dependents under various programs.
These include the Balik Pinas! Balik Hanapbuhay! program, Education for Development Scholarship Program, and Project Alalay sa Pag-aaral para sa mga Anak-OFWs sa Panahon ng Pandemya.
In his message, Bello encouraged the workers affected by the pandemic to enroll under social protection programs of the labor department, even as he assured them that DOLE was taking steps to ease the burden on the displaced Filipino workers.