By LESLIE ANN G. AQUINO
More than 630,000 workers have so far been displaced by the novel coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic.
In a statement, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said these workers were displaced either by reason of temporary closure or flexible work arrangements as reported by 15,213 establishments.
Of the figure, he said 169,232 belong to the informal sector.
Bello appealed to employers in the private sector to apply for DoLE’s COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program financial assistance for the benefit of their workers.
“It has come to our attention that there are not a few establishments that refuse to submit their report along with the payroll to the detriment of their workers,” he said.
“I therefore appeal again to companies that, for the sake of your employees and workers, submit your reports so that we may be able to extend them their most needed assistance under the CAMP,” Bello added.
The CAMP is a safety net program which offers one time P5,000 financial support to employees of companies or business establishments that have adopted flexible work arrangements or temporary closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To avail of the assistance, employers must submit their company payroll for February or earlier which is before the implementation of flexible working arrangements or temporary closure.
Bello also explained that the cash aid available is different from the allocation of between P5,000 to P8,000 in subsidy that the Department of Social Welfare and Development and other agencies are providing under the Bayanihan to Heal As One law.
“While the new law provides a cash and non-cash Emergency Subsidy Program for two months based on the prevailing regional wage rates, DoLE’s CAMP is a one-time quarantine assistance,” he said.
The Labor chief said the ESP also targets families with at least one member belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged sectors such as senior citizens, persons with disability, pregnant and lactating women, solo parents, overseas Filipinos in distress, indigent Indigenous Peoples, underprivileged sector and homeless citizens, and informal economy workers.
Bello assured that they are bent on providing assistance to as many formal and informal sector workers.
According to the Labor department, it has distributed P160 million and is actually accelerating the release of assistance to all those affected.
