In Eastern Visayas, 3,820 workers displaced by lockdowns get P5,000 each

TACLOBAN CITY—More than 3,800 workers, who were stripped of their jobs by COVID-19 lockdowns in Eastern Visayas, have already benefited from a government cash aid program.

Norma Rae Costimiano, information officer of the Department of Labor and Employment in Eastern Visayas (DOLE), said the application period for the cash aid program had already ended last April 15.

She said “several” applications, submitted online on the DOLE’s website, are still pending and being processed for approval.

She added that DOLE is processing only applications that the department received before 5 p.m. last April 15.

Under the program, beneficiaries stand to receive a one-time payment of P5,000 to help them cope with unemployment brought by lockdowns that led to business closures.

Costimiano said the DOLE regional office, as of April 17, had released P19.1 million to 3,820 workers from 294 business establishments that were shuttered by the lockdowns in the provinces of Leyte, Biliran, Southern Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar and Northern Samar.

She said workers, who did not receive P5,000, still have a chance to receive financial help from the Department of Finance’s wage subsidy program.

Edited by TSB