More than 2,000 workers from Ormoc City benefited from the PHP12.14 million worth of livelihood and emergency employment assistance awarded recently by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Livelihood funds amounting to PHP3 million went to the procurement of motorized banca and fishing gear of 100 beneficiaries while the PHP2.88 million livelihood assistance budget was for the “negokart” (business carts) projects of 96 beneficiaries, according to a news release on Saturday.

“It is in the interest of the government that informal workers, whether in times of crisis or not, are able to get the livelihood support they need for the betterment not only of their personal lives but also of their communities. We are honored to be given the opportunity to provide assistance and respond to their call for help,” DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said during the distribution activity.

Bello also took part in the payout of wages to 1,849 informal workers under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program, a community-based package of assistance that provides emergency employment for displaced workers, underemployed, and seasonal workers for a minimum period of 10 days.

The total payout amounted to more than PHP6 million, with each worker receiving PHP3,250 for rendering 10 days of work.

“I assure you that the DOLE programs will continue to help our needy workers,” Bello said.

Some 34 overseas Filipino workers and their dependents shared PHP255,000 under Overseas Workers Welfare Administration assistance programs. (PNA)