ILOILO CITY – The Department of Labor and Employment expects assistance from the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged or Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program in Western Visayas to exceed more than P1 billion by the end of the year.
“With the rate it’s going, it is highly likely to exceed P1 billion,” said Melisa Navarra, DOLE-6 OIC assistant regional director, after they implemented P635 million worth of TUPAD assistance from January to August.
Navarra said that 134,144 displaced and disadvantaged workers benefited from TUPAD in Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental provinces as well as the highly urbanized cities of Iloilo and Bacolod.
A total of P2.45 billion has been disbursed for TUPAD programs for 504,450 beneficiaries since the start of the Marcos administration in July 2022.
DOLE-6 data said more than P768-million worth of TUPAD projects were implemented for 167,345 beneficiaries from July to December 2022. In 2023, it implemented more than P1 billion for 202,961 beneficiaries.