Antique: The payout for the first batch of beneficiaries of the government’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program in Antique is underway, an official said Wednesday. In an interview, Ma. Cecilia Acebuque, provincial director of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), stated that PHP178,024,780 has been allocated for the first batch, consisting of 31,898 beneficiaries.
According to Philippines News Agency, out of the total amount, PHP164,308,640 is earmarked for the wages of beneficiaries, while PHP13,716,140 is for their Personal Protective Equipment and enrollment in the Government Service Insurance System under the Group Personal Accident Insurance for one year. “DOLE, through TUPAD, is providing them, for 10 days, their emergency employment income of PHP513 daily,” Acebuque mentioned. Some beneficiaries have received their TUPAD wages as early as February 18.
The program is designed to offer emergency employment to workers in Antique who have been displaced from their employment or those lacking other means to purchase basic necessities. TUPAD workers in Antique are engaged in tasks such as vegetable gardening and community and school cleanup in preparation for the graduation rites of public schools in April, Acebuque explained.
“TUPAD workers also assisted, particularly the local government unit (LGU) of San Remigio with its road opening project or the construction of a feeder road in the upland barangays of General Fullon, Panpanan I and II,” she added. The uneven implementation of TUPAD across the province meant that while the program began on February 18, some municipalities concluded their TUPAD projects only by March 23, resulting in delayed payouts for some beneficiaries.
Additionally, TUPAD workers contributed to coastal cleanup and canal clearing operations of LGUs to avert flooding. Acebuque noted that Antique has been allocated PHP600 million for 110,000 TUPAD beneficiaries for the entire year and plans to implement the program again before the Holy Week in April. “We are also now having the enlistment for the second batch of TUPAD,” she said.
