The labor department earmarked some P38 million for the implementation of its training cum production with employment assistance for the qualified victims of the magnitude 7 earthquake that jolted most parts of Northern Luzon last July 27, 2022.
Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said that the implementation of the said intervention that was able to help in providing employment assistance to the earthquake victims turned out to be successful that is why the agency wants the same to be replicated in other calamity-stricken areas in the country in the coming months.
The training cum production with employment assistance program was conceptualized by the labor department in partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) which will serve as the training arm for the beneficiaries to be able to avail of the needed skills that they could use to have gainful employment.
Secretary Laguesma pointed out that the said program is part of the agency’s Tulong Pangkabuhayan Para Sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers where more than 2 million Filipinos were able to be provided with the said assistance.
The labor official asserted that the government continues to roll out the needed interventions that will guarantee inclusive growth, poverty reduction and job creation that will contribute in paving the way to recovery after the over 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic that heavily impacted the global economy.
According to him, the initial implementation of the various poverty reduction and job creation programs of the government had been successful amidst the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that is why more Filipinos are expected to be provided with the available assistance as the situation will improve by next year.
Earlier, thousands of people from the Cordillera, Northern Luzon and the Cagayan Valley had been affected after the magnitude 7 earthquake rocked the said communities where the epicenter of the same was recorded to be within the vicinity of Tayum, Abra.
The aforesaid program provided the appropriate training for the identified beneficiaries aside from the employment assistance that allowed them to have sustainable sources of livelihood after their previous source of livelihood was affected by the earthquake.
Secretary Laguesma assured concerned stakeholders that the labor department will remain steadfast in the formulation and roll out of appropriate programs that will allow the realization of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. overall objective of improving the country’s economy and uplifting the living condition of the Filipinos by providing adequate jobs and economic activities.