Over 4.7 million workers in the formal and informal sectors who have been affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic received aid from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) this year.
In his year-end report, DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the Department has intensified the implementation of its social amelioration programs to help distressed workers to recover.
With this, DOLE was able to provide more than P26 billion worth of social protection assistance for pandemic-stricken workers this 2021.
Based on the data from DOLE, majority or 2.173 million of the workers are from private establishments, including those in the tourism industry and the education sector who received some P10.894 billion cash aid under COVID Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP).
The DOLE was also able to pay 1.993 million informal sector workers in the country with P9.62 billion in wages through its flagship emergency employment program Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD).
While the remaining 540,876 were overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who each received one-time financial assistance of P10,000 or a total of P5.487 under DOLE's Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP) program.
Aside from its social amelioration programs, the DOLE was also able to repatriate a total of 837,080 OFWs to the Philippines as of Dec. 15 and help facilitate the employment of 1.656 million jobseekers in the country through the Public Employment Service Offices.
To stimulate the competitiveness of micro, small, and medium enterprises, Bello said they have provided training to 14,099 establishments benefitting 14,988 employers and workers.
Meanwhile, 9,610 seafarers were trained with maritime-related courses, while 102,661 graduates of professional courses were administered with licensure examinations.
The Department also provided livelihood assistance to 66,186 beneficiaries, and emergency employment to 2.143 million beneficiaries to help workers particularly those needing income support during this pandemic.
This year, the DOLE has issued employment compensation policies, such as the one-time financial assistance of 20,000 pesos to EMployees' Compensation pensioners in the private and public sector; and the identification of COVID-19 as an occupational disease.
"We have also removed 17,382 children from the hazards of child labor," Bello added.
At the international front, DOLE signed this 2021 two bilateral labor agreements, one with Romania and the other is with the United Arab Emirates, to set standards and conditions on employment for OFWs.
The Philippines also made history in the world labor front when the country, through Bello, assumed chairmanship of the International Labor Organization’s government group, the first non-regular member country of the ILO to take such a role.
"Sa ating mga kababayan, lalo na sa mga Filipino workers here and overseas, makakaasa po kayo sa aming tuloy-tuloy na pagtupad sa serbisyong tapat (To the public, especially to Filipino workers here and overseas, you can count on our continued commitment to honest service)," Bello said.