GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 11 Nov) – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has allotted an additional P80.
8 million to assist workers in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) who were hit hard by the continuing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Construcdtion workers in General Santos City. MindaNews file photo by BOBBY TIMONERA
Raymundo Agravante, DOLE-Region 12 director, said preparations are underway for the release of the assistance to some 16,577 workers in the region from the formal and informal sectors.
He said funds will be utilized for the rollout of the second wave of the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) and the Tulong Panghanapbuhay para sa mga Displaced/Disadvantaged Workers (Tupad).
The release of the additional assistance was based on the provisions of Republic Act 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, which also known as Bayanihan 2, he said.
“Our top priority is the unserved workers during the first wave of implementation,” he told reporters.
Agravante said a total of P42.8 million was set aside for CAMP-2 and P38 million for Tupad.
Under CAMP-2, he said some 8,565 formal workers will receive a one-time cash assistance of P5,000 each.
He said these were from 544 business establishments and companies in the region’s four provinces and five cities that signified to avail of the assistance and registered with its online establishment report system.
These comprise private establishments or businesses that have implemented flexible work arrangements and closed down temporarily due to the implementation of the community quarantine measures against COVID-19, he said.
For Tupad, the official said they have identified around 8,012 beneficiaries from the informal sector in coordination with the local government units.
In its first wave, the beneficiaries were hired by their barangays to work on community disinfection or sanitation projects for at least 10 days and received salaries based on the prevailing daily minimum wage, which is currently set at P336 per day.
The agency said in a report that a total of 939 recipients have been identified in each of the region’s eight congressional districts.
At least P4.6 million in salaries and P52,584 in one-year insurance coverage with the Government Service Insurance System were allotted for each district.
In the first wave of the CAMP rollout, DOLE-12 released a total P45.88 million to 9,177 workers from 736 establishments and companies in the region.
Some 12,212 informal workers benefited from Tupad, with the total releases reaching a total of P42.98 million. (MindaNews)
