THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is strongly urging the public to report abuses in its emergency employment program for disadvantaged workers.
In a press briefing, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said they are calling on the people to report abuses to protect the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) Program and its beneficiaries.
“There are instances of alleged abuses in the program. But instead of gossiping about it, we urge them to provide us with the appropriate information,” said Laguesma.
“We need to be able to look into these alleged abuses through official reports brought before us,” he added.
The labor chief said the DOLE has existing mechanisms that can hold accountable those abusing the program.
“We have existing mechanisms to address this. And we will hold accountable these people, such as by filing the appropriate cases against them,” said Laguesma.
In the past, there have been reports in Palawan and Quezon City of abuses during the implementation of the TUPAD program.
This resulted in the temporary suspension of the implementation of the program in the concerned areas.
TUPAD is an emergency employment assistance program where displaced workers are hired by the government for a limited period of community work.
In turn, worker-beneficiaries are paid with the prevailing minimum wage rate in their respective regions.
For the first 11 months of 2024, the DOLE said 3.19 million workers have benefitted from the emergency employment program of the department.
Out of the 3.19 million TUPAD beneficiaries, 514,435 workers were affected by calamities such as typhoons, volcanic eruptions, and El Niño.
