DOLE ends cash aid for jobless workers

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) has ended its emergency cash assistance for workers displaced by the pandemic.

The last beneficiaries of the Dole’s COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program for workers in the formal sector were those from the hard-hit tourism industry.

Out of the target 620,000 beneficiaries for the P3.1-billion special allocation for tourism workers, the labor department said it had remitted the P5,000 cash aid to 354,748 tourism workers via payment centers.

The cash aid for 166,276 tourism workers will be disbursed soon.

The Dole said it would choose 98,976 more tourism workers to receive the cash aid.

A little over 1 million tourism workers from around the country applied for cash assistance.

The labor department denied the applications of 3,144 establishments with 153,336 workers, as well as the individual applications of 38,511 workers.