MANILA – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Thursday said it has provided more than PHP12 billion worth of livelihood and emergency employment assistance to over 2 million formal and informal workers.
The second quarter progress report of the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC) released Thursday showed that 2,088,152 workers benefited from the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP), which is composed of the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) and the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged / Displaced Workers (TUPAD).
Of the number, the DOLE said 1,062,499 informal sector workers have benefited from DILP and got PHP6.35 billion in grants.
Some 36,846 workers, primarily from vulnerable groups such as the underemployed, parents of child laborers, and marginalized farmers and fisherfolk, got assistance worth PHP707.1 million.
Of these beneficiaries, 27,128 put up new livelihood projects, while 9,065 expanded their existing ones. Some 653 were also assisted in restoring their livelihood through the DILP.
At least 10,493 workers or 28.48 percent of the beneficiaries helped under the livelihood program, are from the country's 4th to 6th income class municipalities.
The DILP provides financial assistance for the start-up, enhancement, or restoration of lost livelihood for disadvantaged (vulnerable, marginalized, displaced) individuals or groups in the informal sector.
Meanwhile, some 1,025,653 workers were hired under TUPAD and got some PHP5.65 billion in wages.
The cash-for-work program provides temporary work to disadvantaged workers for 10 to 90 days, depending on the nature of assigned community work. Beneficiaries receive wages based on the highest prevailing minimum wage in the region.
Citing the same report, the Bicol Region has the highest number of assisted workers with 141,443 beneficiaries, followed by Calabarzon with 83,665 and Central Luzon with 83,163.
Aside from maintenance and roadside clearing of public facilities and infrastructures, worker-beneficiaries also engaged in community vegetable gardening under the Project LAWA at BINHI, setting-up and maintenance of KADIWA sites, beautification of public roads, dredging of canals, tree planting, and coastal clean-up.
Some 326,191 workers, or 31 percent of the beneficiaries hired under the TUPAD, are also from the 4th to 6th income class municipalities.
In 2023, DOLE enhanced the DILEEP guidelines to simplify the application process, expand eligibility criteria to include more disadvantaged workers from both formal and informal sectors, and broaden the scope of provided assistance. (PNA)
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