Over 4,000 Antiqueños benefit from Php16.8M TUPAD assistance

Around 4, 269 informal workers from Antique’s 16 municipalities received a total of Php16,862,550 in emergency employment assistance under Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.

The Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) flagship employment program provided each beneficiary a Php3,950 wages for a 10-day community service in their respective communities from May 3-13 this year.

“We extend our services to the informal workers through TUPAD after providing job opportunities and livelihood assistance during the Trabaho, Negosyo, Kabuhayan Job and Business Fairs on Labor Day,” DOLE-6 Regional Director Atty. Sixto T. Rodriguez Jr. said.

“DOLE is going out to the barangays to reach the most number of vulnerable workers. This is social justice as we give them equal access to government’s resources and privileges.  They need more from the government so we bring our services closer to them,” added RD Rodriguez.

The identified TUPAD workers from the informal sector who are mostly small vendors, farmers, drivers, fisherfolks, laborers and women earning insufficient income engaged in community service depending on the needs of their respective local government units.

For the slightly urbanized municipalities, the work programs focused on social community projects, such as repair, maintenance, and/or improvement of common public facilities and infrastructures such as schools and health centers, debris clearing, de-clogging of canals, debris segregation and materials recovery, stockpiling and clearing, waste management, coastal clean-up drive and community vegetable gardening.

For municipalities located in mountainous areas, their work program consisted of tree planting, road clearing, community gardening and clean-up drive.

Beneficiaries along the coastal areas engaged in coastal clean-up and community gardening.

“We want to provide a short-term employment to the Antiqueños particularly to those who belong to the marginalized sector through our TUPAD and to take part in the concerted effort of the local government for further development of the Province of Antique as one of the thriving tourist destinations in Region 6,” DOLE RO NO 6- Antique Field Office Head Abellar added.

Aside from the prevailing minimum wage of P395.00/day, they are also enrolled in a group insurance for social security, provided with personal protective equipment (PPEs) and undergone orientation prior to their employment.

The massive implementation of TUPAD in Antique is through DOLE’s partnership with the various local government units (LGUs) in the province which includes Anini-y, Tobias Fornier, Hamtic, San Jose de Buenavista, Belison, Sibalom, San Remigio, Valderrama, Patnongon, Bugasong, Laua-an, Barbaza, Tibiao, Culasi, Pandan and Libertad.