Just like every other grant programs which are not treated seriously by their recipients, the Department of Labor and Employment's TUPAD (Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers) grant program only exacerbates underemployment and had failed to lead to sustainable and quality jobs, according to a study from the University of the Philippines (UP).
Assistant Prof. Benjamin Velasco of the UP Diliman School of Labor and Industrial Relations (UP SOLAIR) said TUPAD is “broken” and “dysfunctional” as it enabled patronage politics and exacerbated underemployment instead of providing sustainable work for informal workers and the long-term unemployed, Business World reported.
He urged government entities to delink public employment from patronage politics.
He said there is need “to establish a central registry of people outside the labor force, unemployed and underemployed. Cross-reference with the Social Security System registry of laid-off workers. Beneficiaries should be picked from a central registry and kept out of the hands of politicians.”
TUPAD, a cash-for-work program that has disbursed over P5.65 billion in wages, aided over one million workers from April to June 2024, the DOLE statement last Thursday.
The temporary jobs offered under the TUPAD program include maintenance and roadside cleaning of public facilities and infrastructure, community vegetable gardening under Project LAWA at BINHI, setting up and maintaining KADIWA sites, beautifying public roads, dredging of canals, tree planting, and coastal clean-up.
TUPAD complements the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP), which provides livelihood assistance and emergency employment. DILEEP beneficiaries have received over P6.36 billion in grants.
Beneficiaries in the Bicol Region topped 141,000, followed by CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) and Central Luzon with over 83,000.
“If about P6 billion was spent for one million TUPAD beneficiaries, it means just P6,000 was given per beneficiary. This implies short-term work of 10 days to sweep the streets,” Velasco told Business World.
“Public employment must be for a minimum of 100 days in a year. Don’t create more underemployed. Provide gainful and decent employment. Prioritize climate jobs, not roadside sweeping,” he said.
#WeTakeAStand #OpinYon #OpinYonStories #DOLE #TUPAD