Belmonte backs probe of aid program over incomplete amounts given in QC

Facade of the Quezon City Hall. (INQUIRER.net file photo)

MANILA, Philippines — Mayor Joy Belmonte supports the investigation being conducted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) of the allegedly incomplete amounts distributed under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program in the Second District of Quezon City.

“We need to get to the bottom of this because our residents have been shortchanged here,” Belmonte said in a statement issued on Saturday.

The DOLE launched the investigation after some 1,000 recipients complained that they were given only P2,000 of the P7,518 they were supposed to receive.

It turned out that a program coordinator had been instructed to accompany the beneficiaries to a remittance center and deduct P5,518 from their cash assistance, according to reports.

In the meantime, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III ordered the suspension of  TUPAD, Director Rolly Francia of the DOLE Information and Publication Service said on Friday.

Bello also ordered Director Sara Buena Mirasol of the DOLE National Capital Region to look into the complaints lodged by some beneficiaries of Barangay Holy Spirit, Francia added.

TUPAD is a package of assistance that provides emergency employment for workers displaced by the lockdowns enforced to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Displaced workers are hired for 10 to 30 days, depending on the nature of the work they will perform.

ATM