The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has teamed up with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to launch an alternative livelihood program for displaced transport workers amid the pandemic.
Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade and Labor chief Silvestre Bello III signed on Tuesday, Oct. 13, a memorandum of agreement on the "EnTSUPERneur" program.
The program aims to provide alternative sources of income for public transport drivers and operators affected by the PUV Modernization Program and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the agreement, the DOTr will provide P200 million funding to enable DOLE to implement its DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) which will provide capital and capacity building on livelihood and entrepreneurship for affected workers.
"We have allotted P200 million for the Entsuperneur program, which will benefit over 6,000 transport workers. Each beneficiary will receive P30,000 that will help them jumpstart their journey as entrepreneurs," Tugade said.
"We will be providing training, raw materials, and even business monitoring to the beneficiaries," he added.
For his part, Bello said the EnTSUPERneur program can provide additional income for transport workers especially in this time of health crisis.
"Pwede sila magnegosyo. Halimbawa pwede silang magpatayo ng sari-sari store para maliban sa pagda-drive ay kikita rin sila. Lahat ng klaseng negosyo na alam nila at gusto nila ay doon natin ibigay ang financial assistance (They can start their own business. They can set up a sari-sari store so they can earn extra money aside from driving. Any business that they know and want, we will provide financial assistance to them)," Bello added.
He also thanked the DOTr secretary for his support to facilitate the livelihood program which he said is the government's long-term solution for the transportation sector.
The Office of Transportation Cooperatives (OTC) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) were tasked to help DOLE in choosing the program beneficiaries, both individual workers and transport cooperatives.
Individuals selected for the program will receive livelihood assistance at a maximum of P30,000, while groups such as transport cooperatives may receive up to P1 million depending on the number of members and the type of project they will implement.