Over 6,000 Western Visayas workers lost their jobs since March due to COVID-19

ILOILO CITY –– Concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic and community quarantine measures continue to take its toll on employment, with more than 6,000 workers in Western Visayas losing their jobs since March.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Western Visayas reported that as of October 12, 6,146 workers in the region have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

These include 1,376 workers, who were laid off due to the permanent closure of firms, and 4,770, who were retrenched, or due to the reduction in the companies’ workforce.

Those who lost their jobs were from 108 establishments that shut down and 539 that reduced their workforce, according to Niezel Anen Sabrido, DOLE Western Visayas spokesperson.

Sabrido said the worst-hit workers were those employed in administrative and support services and establishments engaged in the accommodation and food services.

In Western Visayas, the most number of workers laid off were from the city and province of Iloilo and Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City.

Also hit hard is Aklan province, which includes Boracay Island, where many hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, and other businesses have permanently shut down or suspended operations due to a lack of tourists.

The DOLE provided P5,000 one-time financial assistance to displaced workers under its COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program earlier this year, but many establishments had complained that not all of their affected employees received this after the agency admitted that it ran out of funds.

In the P140-billion allocation under the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act, P13 billion has been allotted for the government’s cash-for-work program and other support programs for impacted sectors, which include workers who lost their jobs.

Sabrido said the DOLE is preparing the assistance to affected workers, but there are still no details as to how many workers can avail themselves of this and by how much.

LZB