MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment is looking to provide cash assistance to at least three million workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello said yesterday.
Bello said the DOLE plans to include in its proposed 2022 budget the funding needed for the implementation of the program.
“We are targeting about three million beneficiaries,” Bello said at a virtual press briefing.
Under the program, Bello said the DOLE intends to grant P5,000 to formal workers displaced by the health crisis.
Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay said the agency is also seeking a bigger budget for next year for the Government Internship Program for the youth.
The DOLE sought P2 billion as supplemental funding for the distribution of one-time cash aid to workers affected by the two-week lockdown in Metro Manila.