Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay (file photo)
MANILA – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced on Thursday that it will initially release PHP 130 million to provide cash assistance to around 25,000 workers in areas classified under Alert Level 3 in some parts of the country.
“As of January 23, around 25,000 workers have been affected by permanent closures, layoffs and temporary closures, based on data from our operational reporting system. We will download some funds of around PHP 130 million to accommodate the first 25,000 affected workers,” Deputy Labor Minister Dominique Tutay said in a Laging Handa briefing.
She said the initial funding was part of the PHP1 billion allocation under the Covid-19 Adaptation Measures Program (CAMP) 3, which came from the DOLE’s budget for this year.
Affected are employees who have lost their jobs or were temporarily employed as a result of alert level 3 and higher reporting.
“These formal sector workers, regardless of their employment status – regular, casual, probationary, contract workers who are affected by the Alert Level 3 declaration,” Tutay added.
A total of 200,000 employees are expected to benefit from the program.
Under CAMP 3, beneficiaries will receive a one-time cash grant of PHP 5,000.
The application process for cash assistance was opened this week.
Businesses and individuals can apply online by submitting their applications and required documents to report.dole.gov.ph.
You can also contact the DOLE Hotline 1349 or the DOLE Regional and Field Offices, whose numbers can be found on the website under Contact Us, dole.gov.ph, if you have any questions about the Program. (PNA)
