Photo credit: DOLE

CALOOCAN CITY, (PIA) -- The Department of Labor and Employment will tap beneficiaries of its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa ating Disadvantaged / Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program as to help boost the expanded national greening program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

In a MOA signing ceremony witnessed by President Bongbong Marcos Jr. last week, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma and Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga agreed to provide for the mobilization of TUPAD beneficiaries in patrolling the forest, seedling production, establishing plantations, and assisting in forest protection activities in support to the DENR’s Improved National Forest Protection Program.

The MOA will be implemented by the DOLE through its Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC) and the Regional /Field Offices who will hire workers to be deployed in areas identified by the environment department’s Forest Management Bureau.

DOLE will allocate funds to cover the prevailing daily minimum wage in the region as well as the administrative cost for personal protective equipment and group personal accident insurance of workers who will be hired; select qualified TUPAD beneficiaries; and assign a program coordinator to monitor and ensure the smooth implementation of the program.

Those who will be hired will augment the current number of Forest Rangers who will conduct patrolling, seedling production, plantation establishment, and protection activities.

Moreover, the labor department is likewise tasked to tap the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or its accredited training institutions to conduct appropriate skills training; and assist in the advocacy of environment-related laws, rules, and regulations.

The agreement is in line with the directive of the President to prioritize mitigation of the worst impacts of climate change in the country through the establishment of livable and sustainable communities, including the adoption of a green economy roadmap which is one of the key strategies of green jobs creation. (DOLE/PIA-NCR)