The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is now preparing to accept applications for financial assistance from workers who have been displaced or affected by restrictions brought by the enforcement of the stricter Alert Level 3.
"Hopefully, starting next week, tayo ay mag-oopen na ng (we can already open the) system for application of CAMP (COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program) for workers in the formal sector affected by Alert Level 3 or even higher," DOLE Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay said in a virtual press briefing.
According to Tutay, all of the eligibility and documentary requirements for the rollout of this year's CAMP have been finalized during the recent meeting of DOLE senior officials and now waiting to be signed by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
Bello recently announced that the Department allocated some P1 billion for the grant of cash assistance to workers who will be displaced by the implementation of the stricter COVID alert level.
Under the CAMP, a one-time P5,000 financial assistance will be given to affected workers in the private sector.
Tutay said they have adjusted the guidelines for the CAMP 2022 and determined which companies or areas will receive the aid first, as well as the timeline of the aid distribution.
"Priority natin yung mga mangaggawa na naapektuhan ng permanent closure or retrenchment. Kasama rin sa bibigyan ng financial assistance yung mga mangaggawa affected by the temporary closure (Our priority will be workers affected by the permanent closure or retrenchment. Also included in the financial assistance were workers whose companies have temporarily closed)," she explained.
Based on DOLE's jobs displacement monitoring, a total of 11,586 workers were displaced from 759 establishments nationwide from Jan. 1 to 15 this year — majority or 687 have reduced its workforce, while 72 reported permanent closure.
Meanwhile, Tutay noted that the distribution of the CAMP in affected areas will depend on when the stringent alert level was implemented.
Tutay added that the acceptance of applications will automatically be cut-off when the Alert Level 3 was lifted.
The DOLE official likewise advised eligible workers to ready the needed requirements so they can immediately apply once the online application system opens which can be accessed at reports.dole.gov.ph.