ANTIQUE – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) provided emergency employment to 464 oil spill-affected residents of Caluya town under its Tulong Panghanapbuhay para sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.
DOLE-Antique information officer Donnabelle Baldonado said the employment program focusing on coastal cleanup started on Wednesday.
“The beneficiaries will be receiving P450 daily wage for a 10-day coastal cleanup,” Baldonado said.
The beneficiaries – displaced fisherfolks, farmers, and seaweed planters – are from barangays Semirara with 246, Tinogboc (66) and Sibolo (152).
The oil slick has covered at least four kilometers of the shoreline of barangays Semirara and Tinogboc, and two kilometers in Sibolo.
“The TUPAD workers are also being provided with personal protective equipment such as gloves, facemasks, and boots as recommended by the Department of Health,” Baldonado said.
They are also covered by the Government Service Insurance System Group Premium Accident Insurance.
Caluya was placed under a state of calamity due to an oil spill on March 6.
The oil spill came from the oil tanker Princess Empress carrying 800,000 liters of fuel. It sank at Naujan, Oriental Mindoro on Feb. 28. (PNA)/PN
