Another batch of 1,020 workers here have benefited from the cash-for-work scheme of the “Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (Tupad) program.

In a statement Friday, Department of Labor and Employment’s Cagayan de Oro City Field Office (DOLE-CDO) said the worker-beneficiaries received PHP3,650 each during the payout that was completed on Wednesday afternoon.

One of the beneficiaries, Ruth Miral, a person with a disability who works as a masseuse for 10 years, said her income was not enough because the pandemic forced massage establishments to close or limit workers.

Miral said her Tupad salary enabled her to meet her daily needs and helped her with legal costs after she filed a case on Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC) against her husband.

Meanwhile, Gina Cabanday, a factory worker who was laid off because of the pandemic, said her salary from Tupad will be used to treat her myoma and buy medicines.

“I can buy now some maintenance (medicine), and save for my myoma operation,” Cabanday said in vernacular.

Tupad is a community-based package of assistance that provides emergency employment for displaced workers, underemployed and seasonal workers, for a minimum period of 10 days, but not to exceed a maximum of 30 days, depending on the nature of work to be performed. (PNA)