The Department of Labor and Employment-Cordillera has released over P52 million financial assistance to employees affected by the work suspension or adjustments brought about by the enhance community quarantine (ECQ).
DOLE-Cordillera Asst. Director Jesus Elpidio Atal said that as of April 15, the agency has paid P52,580,000 to workers who have qualified for the P5,000 on-time aid provided under the Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP).
Atal said 10,516 workers from 688 establishments composed the earlier batch of applicants for the CAMP.
Since DOLE is no longer accepting applications for the CAMP since April 15, Atal said the agency will process the applications they received before the cut-off date.
DOLE has tied up with money transfer service provider Western Union for the payout of the financial assistance to qualified beneficiaries.
“We will pay those that we can afford to pay. For those that we can no longer afford to pay, we will forward their applications to the wage subsidy program of the Department of Finance,” Atal said.
Atal said DOLE requested for another P200M for the applications that were placed under the “waiting list” but only P30M was approved and released to the regional office.
“We will forward the applications that we can no longer accommodate to the DOF,” he said.
Similar to the DOLE’s CAMP, employers whose workers were affected by the work disruptions will apply for the DOF’s wage subsidy on behalf of their employees.
According to the DOF, the Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) Program is for employees of small businesses that were affected by the ECQ.
This wage subsidy will be given for up to two months, through the Social Security System, which will receive and process the applications.
The wage subsidy ranges between P5,000 and P8,000, depending on the minimum wage in each region to each qualified worker.
The SSS will accept applications for the SBWS from April 16 to April 30 only. – Jane B. Cadalig
