CEBU CITY, CEBU, April 4 (PIA) -- The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) through its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program has helped thousands of beneficiaries from 2019 to 2022 under the Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) program and those who lost their jobs and other sources of livelihood due to the pandemic.
Under the National Task Force (NTF) ELCAC, the TUPAD program was able to provide a community-based package of assistance to 3,665 ELCAC beneficiaries from 2019 to 2022, where a total of P18,451,752 worth of assistance was given to the identified beneficiaries covered under the government’s ELCAC initiatives.
Also, as part of its COVID-19 interventions, the TUPAD program gave emergency employment assistance to workers who were displaced by their employers due to the pandemic.
As of February 2022, a total of 289,708 individuals benefited from the program, where a total of P1,305,349,579 was disbursed for the funding of the said assistance.
In their agency’s accomplishment report during the NTF-Regional Task Force (RTF) ELCAC 7 Joint Meeting held at Lapu-Lapu City on March 31, DOLE said that more than P1.3B worth of assistance was extended to almost 300,000 beneficiaries under the TUPAD program for both the ELCAC and COVID-19 initiatives in a period of three years from 2019 to 2022.
In addition, to support the government’s Typhoon “Odette” response, the TUPAD program has also provided a total of P19,697,152 worth of assistance to 4,672 beneficiaries who were affected by the typhoon in December 2021.
Through this employment assistance, the labor department was able to support the government’s goal of promoting gainful employment opportunities to more Filipinos despite the challenges brought by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
DOLE also assured that they will continue to strengthen their efforts in helping workers and ELCAC beneficiaries by providing more livelihood assistance programs and vowed to protect and promote the welfare of the workers in all situations. (RGC/PIA7)
