The Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) said the Bayanihan 2 (Bayanihan To Recover as One bill) would revive the agency’s emergency employment program. It is called Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) that would offer jobs such as data encoders, occupational safety and health (OSH) inspectors, and contact tracers.
Labor Undersecretary Joji Aragon revealed this after the Senate Bill 1564, or the Bayanihan 2 passed the on third and final Senate reading on Tuesday.
“We are thankful that the Bayanihan 2 will be passed. We are looking forward in doubling and pushing for the DOLE’s programs,” she said during the Laging Handa briefing yesterday.
According to Aragon, DOLE implemented Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP), Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP), and Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) under the Bayanihan 1.
The official added the more relaxed community quarantine measures would help DOLE implement programs that would help employees affected by the pandemic.
“That is the reason why under Bayanihan 2, for sure, we will reconfigure our programs to help defeat COVID,” she said. “Under Bayanihan 2, we hope that our programs will be approved like the TUPAD.”
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Aragon said DOLE is looking to implement emergency employment at the barangay level.
“Secretary Silvestre Bello would like TUPAD to be more relevant. Therefore, if we introduced the emergency employment program, we will start at the so-called barangay based or community barangay emergency employment program. We will start at the countryside until we reach the urban places,” Aragon said.
“Our programs will be more relevant that while we assist and provide relief to workers, we also want to help in the recovery phase by having more relevant activities,” she added.
Under the CAMP, a formal sector employee affected by the crisis could receive a one-time cash subsidy of Php5,000.00.
TUPAD, meanwhile, gives beneficiaries 10-day emergency employment where they receive the minimum wage prevailing in their respective areas.
The AKAP program, on the other hand, is a one-time USD200 (PHP10,000) cash assistance for displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
The Bayanihan 2 would allocate PHP15 billion for the cash-for-work program and TUPAD of the DOLE.