MANILA, Philippines — Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Thursday said they “don’t mind” the display of posters urging President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, to run for president during cash aid distribution events in Isabela province.
According to him, their focus was on the discharge of their duties which was the delivery of cash aid.
READ: Run, Sara, Run posters make appearance at DOLE aid payout
During a briefing on DOLE’s budget for 2022, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro brought the matter up alleging that the Tulong Panghanabuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Displaced Workers (Tupad) was being used as a “pre-campaign” for Duterte’s daughter.
But Bello claimed: “Our activity is non-political, whatever is already there, we don’t mind, we just do what we are supposed to do, and that is to pay the beneficiaries of the program.”
“When I see pictures like that I cannot ask the people to remove it, because it is there even before the payout.”
“Di mo naman pwedeng sabihin na, ‘Uy, alisin n’yo yan,’ because that is a public place,” he added.
(You can’t say, ‘Hey, remove that,’ because that is a public place.)
The DOLE chief also explained that local government officials always choose the venue where the distribution would be held for beneficiaries of Tupad, a cash-for-work program under the labor agency for those who lost their jobs during the pandemic.
Under Tupad, disadvantaged or displaced workers are hired to work for 10 days — four hours each day — and paid minimum wages in their area.
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