DOLE eyes ₧4-B funds to aid workers in ECQ

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is eyeing to tap its funds of around P4 billion for its emergency employment program to provide much-needed cash aid for people to be affected by the two-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila.

It issued the statement as the national government aims to finalize the guidelines for its cashaid program on Tuesday amid appeals from labor groups to release the assistance before the end of the week.

In an online press briefing on Monday, Labor Undersecretary Dominique R. Tutay disclosed they may have to use their remaining Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/displaced Workers (TUPAD) to provide the financial aid.

She said the budget would have been used to provide emergency employment to marginalized workers, including those displaced by natural calamities, until the end of the year.

“Technically, if there was no ECQ we would have allocated it for that. But if we will be allowed, we can reallocate if for the purpose [of cash aid],” Tutay said.

She noted the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) instructed DOLE and other concerned government agencies to provide a possible source of funding for the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) to be given to Ecq-affected individuals.

Last week, President Duterte decided to place the National Capital Region (NCR) under ECQ from August 6 to 20, 2021, upon the recommendation of health experts following the spike in Covid-19 cases in the region.

The surge in new infections is being seen as fueled by the Delta variant of Covid-19.

Early release

THE latest round of lockdowns in NCR is expected to displace at least 127,000 workers based on the administrative displacement data of DOLE.

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), however, said it could be as high as over 400,000.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the national government will provide a P1,000 cash aid for qualified individuals with a cap of P4,000 per household in NCR during the said period to help them cope with the movement restrictions under ECQ.

Tutay said the cash aid will be provided for both permanently or temporarily displaced workers and other qualified groups.

Labor coalition Nagkaisa appealed to the government for the prompt release of the cash aid to “enables families to efficiently prepare for weeks of forced quarantine.”

“We can recognize how hard it is to mobilize government resources for recurring emergencies, but we also are aware of the fact that billions of funds under Bayanihan 1 and 2 remain unutilized and left to expire without serving their purpose. So, if funds are there, then ayuda can be walked faster,” Matula said.

“Late payout of ayuda [cash aid], insufficient as they are, defeats the purpose of it being an emergency assistance,” he added.

The expired Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan 1) and Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan) contained the funding for the government’s Covid-related measures, including financial aid for Ecq-affected individuals.

Previous releases of the aid were plagued with delays due to administrative and logistics issues from the government.

NONIE REYES Hundreds of people—mostly seafarers and cruise-ship workers and some arriving as early as 2 a.m.—wait in line to get vaccinated against Covid-19 at The Tent at Vista Global South. The events venue, converted into a vaccination site, is the biggest of Las Piñas City’s 15 vaccination sites. Amid the rising number of Delta variant cases in the country, the House Committee on Health will begin hearing a bill seeking to impose mandatory vaccination against the virus, but government has been advised to first make sure it is vaccinating as many people as possible. The country recorded over 8,000 Covid-19 cases for three straight days from Friday to Sunday.