At least 1,863 beneficiaries from the informal sectors, displaced workers, and unemployed here and in three towns in Sultan Kudarat province have received their pay under the government’s cash-for-work program over the weekend, officials said Monday.
The Department of Labor and Employment-Soccsksargen (DOLE-12) and the office of Sultan Kudarat Rep. Princess Rihan Sakaluran facilitated cash payout on Saturday for the beneficiaries of the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.
The TUPAD cash payment aims to provide emergency employment for beneficiaries from the municipalities of Isulan, Lambayong, President Quirino, and Tacurong City.
DOLE-12 director Joel Gonzales said each beneficiary received a cash grant amounting to PHP7,360 covering 20 days of community projects, totaling PHP13,711,680.
Gonzales underscored DOLE’s thrust on improving the sustainability of its programs in achieving poverty reduction and economic growth.
“We hope that the payout will also somehow help improve the province’s economy by empowering 1,863 families through TUPAD,” he said in a statement.
Sakaluran encouraged the beneficiaries to properly use the cash assistance that the government has provided them and “think of ways to invest it for their family.”
The TUPAD program is a community-based package of assistance that provides emergency employment for the displaced, underemployed, and seasonal workers, for a minimum period of 10 days, but not exceeding 90 days, depending on the nature of work.
Child laborers, poor parents
Meanwhile, on the same day, the DOLE-12 also launched Project Angel Tree in the province benefitting 50 child laborers and respective parents and guardians.
“Through the program, DOLE-12 and the provincial government had extended financial assistance worth PHP1 million to 50 deserving beneficiaries, removing them from child labor and providing livelihood opportunities for their families,” Gonzales said.
Under the program, the PHP1 million fund allocation from the Provincial Council for the Protection of Children provides income-generating ventures to beneficiaries such as welding, carinderia, furniture shop, carpentry, baking, snack house, fried chicken vending, “balut” (fertilized duck egg) vending, and vulcanizing, among others.
“We are glad, this source of income is already ours, thank you very much,” said Nanay Caring, one of the beneficiaries.
Gonzales said the profiled children also received packages such as school supplies, jackets, school bags, shoes, and groceries.
The project, a component of the DOLE Child Labor Prevention and Elimination Program, provides social services ranging from food, clothing, school supplies, and even work and training opportunities made available by sponsors called “angels” to child laborers and their families. (PNA)
