MANILA -- Grateful for the support Bataan received from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), top executives of the province on Friday, 16 July, hailed Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III for being "close to the hearts of our people".
Led by Governor Albert Garcia, the officials thanked Bello for bringing in Bataan the programs of the government to help its pandemic-hit workers recover.
Garcia said Bataenos are very much indebted to the Labor chief who extended all the assistance DOLE can give to their province --from the cash for work TUPAD program to livelihood packages for formal and informal sector workers.
"We owe a lot from you, Secretary Bebot. Thank you very much for your help," Garcia said.
As a gesture of appreciation, Bello was awarded a plaque signifying the gratefulness of the people of the province. Another recognition was given by the Freeport Authority of Bataan (FAB) for having ably balanced the interests of locators and their workers.
However, Bello said Bataan doesn’t owe him anything.
"The funds DOLE released for the province is the money of the people. DOLE is just giving it back to them," Bello said.
"I'm just following instructions from President Duterte to give the money to workers affected by the crisis," he said. (DOLE)
