TACLOBAN CITY – The national government has poured out some PHP46.3 million in cash assistance to workers in Eastern Visayas, who have been displaced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Under the Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 8 (Eastern Visayas) has released more than PHP27 million in financial support for some 5,405 formal sector workers from 402 establishments in the region.
Each affected worker received a one-time PHP5,000 financial assistance, Norma Rae Constimiano, DOLE-8 information officer, said in a statement on Friday.
“This program is solely for private workers, whose establishment(s) were affected by temporary closure, implemented alternative working arrangement, or had a loss or reduced income due to the quarantine measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus,” Constimiano said.
The labor department also distributed about PHP19.3 million in aid to 5,999 informal workers in 71 cities and towns across the region through its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced workers – Barangay Ko, Bahay Ko (TUPAD-BKBK) Sanitation Project.
Beneficiaries of the program sanitized their homes or communities for 10 days and got paid equivalent to the daily minimum wage in the region.
“It is like hitting two birds with one stone. We were able to help them during this health crisis and at the same time contribute to the cleanliness of their communities,” Constimiano said.
The DOLE still accepts applications and proposals from local government units wishing to avail of the program to use the region’s total allocation of PHP45.7 million, she added.
For CAMP, the region has an initial budget of PHP34.5 million, and the remaining fund can still accommodate some 1,500 workers.
Constimiano added that they are also waiting for the additional fund of PHP30 million to accommodate the applications of 300 establishments with about 6,000 employees.
“Effective at 5 p.m. on April 15, we officially closed the applications for the cash assistance program. We sent out a notice of non-accommodation to those establishments, which were not accommodated, and referred them for the small business wage subsidy program of the Department of Finance,” she said.
Based on the DOLE report, a total of 2,440 small businesses in the region have been affected by the community quarantine that began in mid-March, displacing some 32,248 workers. (PNA)
