The Manila Times
THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will provide more than 200,000 temporary jobs under its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (Tupad) program. Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino said Tupad beneficiaries will be mobilized to support the Department of Education’s Brigada Eskwela program in preparation for the opening of classes. The workers will be deployed starting June 1 to help clean campuses, repair classrooms, and ensure that learning facilities are ready for students when classes begin. Tolentino said the program is expected to generate over 200,000 employment opportunities from June until the start of the school year and even during the early months of classes. It aims to provide immediate income support to disadvantaged, displaced and underemployed workers while addressing urgent school maintenance needs. Beneficiaries will undertake repair and rehabilitation work in schools within their own communities. Tolentino said the DOLE has coordinated with DepEd to ensure the program’s smooth implementation. DOLE’s regional directors have been instructed to supervise operations, while assistant regional directors will handle day-to-day field monitoring. Tupad, launched in 2009 under the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (Dileep), provides short-term wage employment lasting from 10 to 30 days. Beneficiaries are paid the prevailing regional minimum wage for carrying out community-based projects such as cleaning public spaces, declogging waterways, planting trees and repairing public facilities. Beyond temporary jobs, Tolentino is also pushing for stronger livelihood opportunities for graduates of technical-vocational programs. He said that as chairman of the Tesda Board, he wants closer integration between DOLE livelihood initiatives and Tesda training programs to ensure graduates have better employment and business prospects. Tolentino said the government is exploring the provision of starter kits and seed capital assistance for Tesda graduates so they can launch small enterprises, generate income, and transform acquired skills into sustainable livelihoods. In a statement on Saturday, the Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sonny Angara said Tupad “supports the nationwide effort to ensure that public schools are clean, safe, organized, and ready to welcome millions of learners.” “The convergence allows eligible Tupad beneficiaries to participate in school preparation activities such as classroom cleaning, waste management, hauling of furniture and learning materials, vegetation clearing, landscaping, repainting, and other non-technical campus improvement activities,” Angara said.
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