BACOLOD CITY –– Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has instructed the provincial tourism officer to start accepting displaced tourism workers, who can avail of the P5,000-cash assistance offered by the Department of Tourism (DOT).
Lacson said he found out from Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat that establishments do not have to be DOT accredited to receive financial assistance.
In a meeting with local officials on Tuesday, Puyat said a P3-billion fund is available to help displaced tourism workers and that only 20 percent of it had been distributed.
She said the December 2020 deadline for the application for the cash assistance had been extended to June.
Puyat hoped more workers would avail of the assistance because the tourism industry is one of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.