Beneficiaries of Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) have been mobilized in building makeshift classrooms at a remote community of Sipalay City, Negros Occidental, ahead of the school opening next week.

The initiative is benefiting learners from Kindergarten to Grade 10 in Sitio Can-arao, Barangay Cabadiangan, the Department of Labor and Employment-Negros Island Region (DOLE-NIR) said in a report on Wednesday.

“The construction of makeshift classrooms through community participation and government support brings children in Sitio Can-arao closer to accessible education,” DOLE-NIR Interim Director Roy Buenafe said.

For 15 days, some 500 TUPAD beneficiaries from five barangays, including Cabadiangan, Gil Montilla, Mambaroto, San Jose and Camindangan, were tasked not only to earn temporary income, but also to contribute to projects that directly benefit their own communities.

They received a total TUPAD grant of PHP4.325 million.

The TUPAD workers from other barangays also joined in school preparation activities under the Department of Education’s Early Brigada Eskwela this week.

They assisted in cleaning school grounds and undertaking masonry works that contributed to creating safer, cleaner, and more conducive spaces for learning.

“Their collective effort demonstrates how labor programs can create ripple effects that extend beyond income generation and contribute directly to community development,” Buenafe said.

TUPAD is a community-based package of assistance providing emergency employment, and the recipient barangay is considered the accredited co-partner of the DOLE responsible for the direct delivery of services to the target beneficiaries. (PNA)