The Department of Tourism (DOT) announced on Labor Day, May 1, that more than 400,000 tourism workers who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic were approved to receive a one-time financial aid worth P5,000 under a joint program by the DOT and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said a total of 465,530 tourism workers were identified to be qualified beneficiaries of the DOT-DOLE Cash Assistance Program which has an allocated budget of P2,327,650,000 under the Republic Act No. 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act (Bayanihan 2).
Romulo-Puyat further said that there were 39,429 identified beneficiaries from the National Capital Region (NCR); 26,908 from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR); 45,709 from Ilocos (Region 1); 17,293 from Cagayan Valley (Region 2); 55,974 from Central Luzon (Region 3); 61,392 from Calabarzon (Region 4A); 56,955 from Mimaropa (Region 4B); and 11,468 from Bicol (Region 5).
There were also 45,429 identified beneficiaries from Western Visayas (Region 6); 31,712 from Central Visayas (Region 7); 13,327 from Eastern Visayas (Region 8); 6,609 from Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9); 13,939 from Northern Mindanao (Region 10); 26,095 from Davao (Region 11); 5,661 from Soccsksargen (Region 12); and 7,630 from Caraga (Region 13).
The country's economy is severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as the government imposed strict lockdowns that led to the closure of business establishments.
Around 4.2 million people have lost their jobs due to the pandemic, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) had said in February, and one of the most affected is the tourism industry.
"We are hopeful that this financial assistance will provide some relief to our most affected stakeholders and tourism workers during these difficult times," Romulo-Puyat said.
"While it may help in the short term, we believe that the best way to help stakeholders, in the long run, is to develop a tourism industry that is stronger, more resilient, and more adaptable to change," she stressed.
Out of the total approved beneficiaries, 450,202 workers were from 15,982 tourism establishments, organizations, and associations nationwide. Meanwhile, the DOT and DOLE also received 15,328 individual applications.
As of April 28, the Tourism Chief said 325,678 workers have received the cash aid as a total of P1,628,390 were already remitted and released to payment centers.
Meanwhile, the remaining budget worth P699,260,000 remains pending for disbursement and will be received by 139,852 approved applicants.