P5.5-M aid for Caraga, Compostela workers displaced by typhoon set

MANILA, Philippines — Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz ordered on Thursday the release of an initial P5.5 million funding for emergency employment and livelihood of workers who were displaced by typhoon Pablo in Caraga Region and Compostela Valley.

Baldoz cited the town of New Bataan, where workers of Freshmax Corporation, a Korean-owned plantation company, have been displaced because its banana plantation was totally wiped out by flash floods.

Of the amount, P500,000 will be for livelihood and emergency employment assistance to workers in the Caraga Region. The rest of the amount will be for affected workers in the Compostela Valley.

“We have to respond immediately to the workers’ call for assistance, especially those who were hardest hit by the typhoon,” Baldoz said.