DOLE main office.
TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, Philippines — A party-list group has partnered with the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) to provide assistance to people who lost their jobs during the pandemic.
Actress and television host Karla Estrada, third nominee of party-list Tingog, led the distribution of cash aid under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (Tupad) in Capoocan town, Leyte province, last week.
At least 200 people from different villages in Capoocan each received P4,875 as payment for their 15-day work, consisting mostly of cleanup drives, including clearing of canals and other waterways as well as maintenance of public school buildings and grounds.
Tupad is a community-based program implemented by the Dole to provide emergency employment for displaced, underemployed and seasonal workers for a minimum of 10 days, but not to exceed 30 days, depending on the nature of work to be performed.
Estrada, mother of actor Daniel Padilla, urged Tupad beneficiaries to make good use of the government’s cash assistance.
Pio Loay, 63, a resident of Barangay Lemon, said the money he received under Tupad would be used for his family’s basic needs, as he cited Tingog’s continued assistance to local communities, especially during the pandemic.
While leading Tupad’s payout in the town’s biggest barangay of Lemon, Estrada thanked Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III for trusting Tingog, led by Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, chair of the House committee on the welfare of children.
In her different engagements in Leyte, Estrada, a native of Tacloban City, said Tingog would continue to work with the Dole to expand its cash-for-work program and provide economic relief to displaced workers.
Recently, the House of Representatives allotted an additional P10 billion for the implementation of Tupad in 2022.