ILOILO City – The emergency employment of 1,000 informal sector (IS) workers and indigenous people (IP) on the Island of Boracay under the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Tulong Panghanabuhay Para sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers, or TUPAD kicked off on Friday, May 27.
The TUPAD beneficiaries were deployed in the different areas of Barangay Balabag to work on various community works like the cleanup/rehabilitation of shoreline, roads and canals, and the Material Recovery Facility.
According to DOLE Region 6 director Johnson Cañete, their number represents only around 25 per cent of the total commitment of secretary Silvestre Bello III which is to provide employment to 5,000 IS workers and IPs as part of the DOLE’s package of intervention to cushion the impact of Boracay closure to the affected workers.
Cañete disclosed that DOLE personnel assigned in Boracay, as well as the Government Internship Program intern-beneficiaries hired for this purpose are doubling their efforts to profile the affected workers.
DOLE Aklan Field Office officials are closely coordinating with the three barangays on their work programs for TUPAD projects so as to fast track the provision of emergency employment to IS workers and IPs and to hasten the rehabilitation of the Island.
The region still needs to employ 4,000 IS workers and IPs to attain the commitment of Secretary Bello.
The worker-beneficiaries will receive a minimum wage of P323.50 per day for 30 days. They are also covered by an insurance under the Group Personal Accident Insurance of the Government Service Insurance System.
Before their deployment, each worker was given long sleeves t-shirt and buri hat to protect them from the harsh weather condition./PN
