TACLOBAN CITY – At least 78,437 informal workers in Eastern Visayas have benefited from the government’s emergency employment program from January to June 2021 for those affected by the pandemic. As of June 30, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has released PHP382 million for the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced (TUPAD) program in the region’s six provinces, said Norma Rae Costimiano, DOLE Eastern Visayas information officer, in a phone interview Tuesday. Each affected worker received one-time financial assistance of up to PHP5,000 under TUPAD, a community-based package of assistance that provides emergency employment for displaced workers, underemployed, and