Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on Tuesday, Feb. 22, said the immediate response of the city's security officers and the police force resolved the short chaos that occurred at the two venues where applications for cash assistance for displaced workers, known as TUPAD program, were received.
Residents lined up early for TUPAD applications on Tuesday at Plaza Bonifacio in Barangay San Jose and at the Rainforest/RAVE Senior Citizen Park, which were scheduled to start at 9 a.m.
However, actions from some individuals caused disorder on the lanes.
In a statement released on the same day, Sotto apologized to the public regarding the incidents.
Citing the Peace and Order Department's report, Sotto said the queue of the residents waiting to sign up for the TUPAD program at Plaza Bonifacio was actually organized. It was until someone shouted that the lanes were set per barangay, which confused the people.
"Sa Rainforest Park naman ay may tumulak sa isang gate kaya nag-unahan ang mga taong papasok ng venue nung bumukas ito (At the Rainforest Park, someone pushed a gate causing individuals to rush in when it opened)," the mayor added.
"Full force at mabilis namang umaksyon ang ating Peace and Order officers at Pulis Pasig, kaya naayos kaagad ang sitwasyon sa dalawang lugar (Our Peace and Order officers and Pulis Pasig quickly responded in full force, that's why the situation in the two areas were immediately resolved)," Sotto said.
The mayor said that the processing of TUPAD applications is usually fast even if there are long queues as the requirements are just being placed in a dropbox and there are no interviews.
"Salamat po sa inyong pang-unawa (Thank you for understanding)," he said.
Sotto also clarified that the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) previously encountered issues when they tried to assign the program in the different barangays, that's why it chose to use the "first-come, first served" dropbox system for the applications.
The TUPAD (Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers) program is a community-based package assistance program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) that provides emergency employment to the underemployed, displaced and seasonal workers, for a 10-30 day period depending on the nature of work, according to www.dole.gov.ph.