TACURONG CITY, Sultan Kudarat  (PIA) -- At least 3,000 workers in Tacurong City who are affected by the coronavirus pandemic will be provided emergency employment through the Department of Labor and Employment's (DOLE) Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) Program. 

Speaking at a recent Laging Handa Network Briefing News, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III told Tacurong City Mayor Lino Montilla that DOLE has already earmarked 3,000 TUPAD slots for Tacurong City's  informal sector workers. 

"Don't worry mayor, before the end of this year, I will give you TUPAD for 1,000 beneficiaries. Next year, I will give you additional TUPAD allocation for 2,000 beneficiaries," Secretary Bello said in response to Mayor Montilla's inquiry regarding a letter he sent requesting for emergency employment support, particularly for residents who are struggling because of the pandemic. 

In a letter to the labor secretary dated September 24,  Mayor Montilla appealed  for funding support amounting to P14.185 million  "to be utilized in providing emergency employment to the heads of 2,837 families belonging to the poorest of the poor  population, with each family receiving P5,000 in wages." 

These families, the local chief executive explained, are those whose incomes fall below the regional poverty threshold, based on the findings of the LGU's 2020 Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) survey. 

Mayor Montilla noted in the same letter that DOLE programs implemented in the Goodwill City "have cushioned the blow of COVID-19 to the lives of some members of the vulnerable sectors, but admittedly, the prolonged impact of the pandemic has pushed several others into further hardships"  prompting him to seek for more DOLE aid.