LA TRINIDAD, Benguet– More than four thousand residents from the province’s thirteen municipalities received their respective financial assistance from the labor department’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay Para Sa Ating Disadvantaged and Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program as part of the efforts of the government to help in mitigating the effects of the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to the living condition of the people.
Benguet caretaker congressman and Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Eric Yap, Gov. Melchor Diclas, municipal officials of the 13 towns and officials from the Cordillera office of the labor department spearheaded the distribution of the second round of financial assistance from the aforesaid program as part of the government’s initiative to allow the gradual and safe revival of the local economy.
Earlier, Congressman Yap requested Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to increase the allocation of the agency’s TUPAD program for the province to help in extending whatever available assistance that will be given to residents who are evaluated and assessed to be in need of the financial support which they could use to provide for their basic needs while awaiting the relaxation of existing restrictions that will pave the way for the economy to start regaining its vibrancy.
During the early part of this year, the lawmaker, together with provincial and municipal officials, facilitated the first wave of the distribution of the financial assistance to residents of the province who were identified to be in need of the same to be able to start recovering from the health crisis.
Under the agency’s TUPAD program guidelines, each of the recipients got P5, 250 aid which is equivalent to approximately 15 days of work which they were able to render in their respective barangays to ensure the cleanliness of their surroundings.
Congressman Yap disclosed that by December, the third batch of recipients of the said financial assistance will be getting their aid which will be personally handed over to them so that they will be able to have the initial money that they could use to continue providing for the basic needs of their families.
In his public appearances, Congressman Yap stated that he wants to make sure that at least one member of every household in the province will be getting the appropriate assistance from concerned government agencies to help them provide for their basic needs while allowing them to slowly and safely recover from the effects of the pandemic that had prevailed over the past 20 months.
Aside from the TUPAD program, Congressman Yap was able to source out funds from the Assistance to individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the medical assistance to indigent patients of the Department of Health which residents of the province could benefit from.
For next year, the Benguet caretaker congressman assured the people of Benguet that similar assistance will continue to be distributed to the deserving residents as part of the government’s initiatives for people to cope up with the effects of the ongoing pandemic. By HENT
