BY EASTER ANNE DOZA
More than P7 million worth of Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) were given out during the Labor Day edition of the Integrated Sustainable Assistance Recovery and Advancement Program (ISARAP) – second round of the Negros Occidental leg held at the Manuel Torres Coliseum and Cultural Center in Bago City on Sunday, May 1.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 6 turned over checks worth of P7,271,300 to barangays 12, 35, and 14 in Bacolod City, Concepcion in Talisay City, Barangay 1-Poblacion of Hinigran, Caradio-an in Himamaylan City and 6 in San Carlos City that will benefit some 1,691 TUPAD workers of these barangays.
DOLE 6 Assistant Regional Director lawyer Dax Villaruel read the Labor Day message of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III who acknowledges the challenges faced by the Filipino workforce in the past two years during the pandemic but salute the same for showing courage and grit amid all these challenges that contributed to the nation’s economic recovery
“On behalf of the Department of Labor and Employment, I assure you of our relentless commitment to upholding the rights and safeguard the welfare of Filipino workers,” Bello in his read statement said.
Meanwhile, Philippine Reclamation Authority General Manager and Lead Convenor of Integrated Sustainable Assistance Recovery and Advancement Program or ISARAP in Western Visayas, lawyer Jan Rubiato, said ISARAP just proved that the government has resources that just needs to find a way, a program like ISARAP so that the help of the government can go straight to the people.
“This is the mandate of President Rodrigo Duterte to us. We have the government funds, we have the resources, we need to find a way to reach the people, straight,” Rubiato said expressing elation with the turn-out of beneficiaries for the ISARAP’s final kick held in Bago City, May 1 which also made rounds in the different provinces in Western Visayas.*