NAGA CITY — The city government of Naga has enrolled several hundreds of Nagueños to the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (Tupad) since March 2020, a week after the government placed the entire Luzon under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
Tupad, a program being undertaken nationwide by the Department of Labor and Employment in partnership with the local government units, 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.
In this city, the DOLE thru the Metro PESO has served 836 displaced workers from the city’s 27 barangays who were paid P5,000 each for a work period of 16 days.
The government agency thru the LGU’s Metro Naga Public Employment Service Office (Metro PESO) has paid P3.5-M for the wages of the Tupad laborers who were assigned to conduct clean-up at different government facilities e.g. Barangay Health Centers, Educare Centers, drainage and waterways systems, open spaces, and repair of various student desks and classroom chairs and blackboards.
The project’s fourth batch of 500 to 800 workers is expected to reel off before the end of March or after the Holy Week depending upon the availability of funds to be offered by the regional office of DOLE.
Metro PESO Head Florencio Tam Mongoso said the fourth batch of workers will be given tasks that will engage them in social, economic, and agro-forestry community projects which include repair, maintenance, and/or improvement of common public facilities and infrastructure such as schools and health centers, debris clearing, de-clogging of canals, debris segregation and materials recovery, stockpiling and clearing, repair, maintenance and/or rehabilitation of farm-to-market roads, bridges, post-harvest facilities, public markets and common service facilities such as production and display centers, fish ports, and tree planting, seedling preparation, and reforestation.
