Some 141,477 displaced and disadvantaged workers in the Ilocos Region have been given employment through the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) from January to September this year.

In a phone interview on Monday, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Ilocos information officer Justin Marbella said of the total number, 25,651 were from Ilocos Norte, 51,734 from Ilocos Sur, 20,700 from La Union, 13,518 from Western Pangasinan, 13,530 from Central Pangasinan, and 16,344 from Eastern Pangasinan.

Marbella said the agency has disbursed over PHP833.1 million for the program.

“This includes wages for the workers and procurement for their personal protective equipment and insurance coverage,” he said.

Also part of the disbursements is the administrative costs and salaries for TUPAD coordinators, he added.

Marbella said the TUPAD beneficiaries rendered 10 to 15 days of community work in their barangays, such as cleaning and disinfection and greening and tree planting activities.

“Each of the workers received a daily wage rate of PHP340 for projects approved before June 6, 2022. Meanwhile, TUPAD projects approved on June 6, 2022 onwards granted a daily wage rate of PHP370 for each emergency worker in consonance to the Wage Order RB1-21, which provided for the increase in daily minimum wage rate in Ilocos Region,” he said.

These DOLE programs are “demand-driven” and have served the marginalized, vulnerable, and under-privileged beneficiaries for decades hence, their exemption from the election ban.

TUPAD program provides temporary employment to displaced workers, underemployed, and seasonal workers.

The beneficiaries are tasked to disinfect or clean their communities depending on the work needed in their respective villages. (PNA)