DOLE allocates P100M to displaced workers

At least P100 million worth of assistance is being allocated by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)- 7 to aid workers affected by Super Typhoon Tino across Cebu, particularly those in the formal and informal sectors whose workplaces were damaged or forced to suspend operations due to the disaster.

- Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/IHM

DOLE-7 Regional Director Roy Buenafe said the fund will support the agency's ongoing rapid assessment and emergency employment interventions, including its cash-for-work program under Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD).

Buenafe, in an interview with reporters, said that after the disaster, their first concern was the safety of the people in the affected areas. They then immediately conducted a rapid assessment in identified barangays and cities heavily impacted by the typhoon.

“Our strategy is to rationalize our interventions on the ground. The target is formal workers — those whose employers or enterprises were directly affected by the typhoon. Many of them are under a no work, no pay arrangement, so we are now profiling them to provide assistance,” he added.

According to Buenafe, through the P100-million allocation, DOLE-7 is implementing a ten-day emergency employment program to help affected workers clean and rehabilitate their communities and workplaces.