An official of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Wednesday said the agency is strengthening validation and monitoring mechanisms of the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.

DOLE Undersecretary Benedicto Ernesto Bitonio Jr. said during a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development that the agency revised its guidelines to emphasize meaningful work and tighter oversight of beneficiaries.

“Actually, we just revised our guidelines para ma-emphasize na… ‘yung meaningful naman dapat at merong social value yung kanilang ginagawa (We have revised our guidelines to emphasize that the work should be meaningful and have social value),” he said.

He added that DOLE is enhancing its validation process, including limiting assistance to one beneficiary per household per year and coordinating with the Philippine Statistics Authority to use community-based monitoring and the national ID system.

“’Yung beneficiaries po sa TUPAD ay gagamitin na rin namin ‘yung… national ID system… sa ganun, magagwardyahan po ‘yung paulit-ulit na pag-access sa benepisyo (We will use the national ID system for TUPAD beneficiaries so repeated access to benefits can be prevented),” he said.

The reforms were discussed after Senator Raffy Tulfo, who chairs the panel, raised concerns over alleged misuse of the program.

“Maraming mga complaints na receive ko sa programa ko na maling pagka-implement ng TUPAD… ipi-picture-an, may hawak ng walis, and then after that, go home (I have received many complaints about the wrong implementation of TUPAD… they are photographed holding a broom, then after that, they go home),” Tulfo said.

Tulfo called for stricter monitoring to ensure that beneficiaries perform meaningful work and that assistance reaches qualified recipients.

Bitonio said the agency would submit a report to the Senate committee detailing the improvements in TUPAD implementation. (PNA)