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(Metro Manila, Philippines) Some 290 beneficiaries from City of Manila District I, received an emergency employment assistance through the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Displaced/Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) program.

The TUPAD payout was held at the DOLE-NCR Regional Office on April 20, 2023.

The event was a pre-demonstration on how fast and efficient the process of the actual TUPAD payout to 1,876 beneficiaries before the conduct of Labor Day Celebration at the SMX Convention Center, Manila, on April 30, 2023, thanks to Universal Storefront Services Corporation (USSC), DOLE-NCR’s partner remittance center.

“Mayroon na kaming store payout, pero gusto makita ng DOLE ‘yung ginagawa naming caravan on how fast ‘yung pag-release ng pera sa mga beneficiaries,” said Ms. Novi Fuentes, USSC’s area manager.

Ms. Novi Fuentes, one of USSC’s area managers, led the demonstration of TUPAD payout together with 2 other area managers, IT, and 6 paymasters.

During the demonstration, the lone challenge observed by the senior officials was with the misspelled names of the beneficiaries, which had to be corrected before releasing the salary.

The beneficiaries of TUPAD rendered 10 days of work starting from March 6 to 16, 2023 and received 5,700 pesos each (which is based on the minimum wage rate in Metro Manila) as their salary of service. They accomplished a clean-up service in various barangays from District I in City of Manila.

One of the recipients of TUPAD is Ms. Romana De Leon, 59 years old, who expressed her gratitude in the program and its fast service during the payout process.

“Maraming nag-assist sa amin dito at mabilis ang pagbigay ng pera. Nagiging emosyonal lang ako kasi malaking tulong ito sa katulad naming walang-wala. Nagpapasalamat talaga kami na nagkaroon ng ganitong programa, sana masundan pa ito,” she said.

TUPAD beneficiary Romana De Leon sells different kinds of snacks such as sago at gulaman, fishballs, and egg. The emergency employment assistance, she said, would help augment her small business.

Some key officials of DOLE-NCR who witnessed the TUPAD payout were Regional Director, Atty. Sarah Buena S. Mirasol together with Assistant Regional Director, Atty. Jude Thomas P. Trayvilla; OIC-Assistant Regional Director, Atty. Olivia O. Obrero-Samson; Officer-in-Charge of Technical Support and Services Division-Employment Promotion and Workers Welfare (TSSD-EPWW), Ms. Maria Luisa Khristina C. Oliveros; and Division Chief of Internal Management Services Division (IMSD), Mr. Regienald S. Espaldon.

END / Mark Louie T. Conde