Here are some “mind-boggling” statistics recently released by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE): between 2022 and 2024, a total of P5,283,332,804.23 was disbursed to beneficiaries of the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa ating Displaced/Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD).
The landmark DOLE program was started during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to assist workers who were displaced due to the economic impacts of the pandemic.
And as of August 2024, according to DOLE Laguna Provincial Office Director Guido Recio, the TUPAD program has benefitted over 1,073,442 displaced workers from 2022 to August 2024.
Behind all these glowing statistics, however, some questions remain, as local media pointed out during the recent "Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas" forum conducted by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) last September 17.
Real beneficiaries
Local media who attended the forum centered on one particular question: how did DOLE ensure that the benefits from TUPAD reach those who need it?
Some members of the media noted during the open forum that they have received reports that some of the beneficiaries of TUPAD were chosen not because they needed the program but because, as one reporter put it, “kakilala ko o kamag-anak ko yung nasa barangay kaya nakasali ako.”
One flaw with the program, as DOLE Provincial Director Recio himself acknowledged, is that the final list of beneficiaries for the TUPAD program is crafted not by the DOLE itself but by local government units (LGUs.)
Knowing the all-pervasive “padrino” system in local governance, where beneficiaries are chosen not due to merit but due to connections with public officials, several concerned sectors have raised concerns with the efficacy of the TUPAD program to address the needs of those whose livelihoods were severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Safety guards
“Pero mayroon po kaming database, and kapag ayon sa database na ito ay naging beneficiary na kayo ng TUPAD for this year, hindi na po kayo eligible ulit na maging beneficiary within the year,” Recio explained.
The DOLE official added that TUPAD coordinators within the agency conduct “cross-checking” and random monitoring to ensure that only those who qualify by their standards will receive the benefits accorded by the program.
“At kapag dumating naman po ang araw ng payout, kahit na kasama sa listahan, kapag natingnan po ng ating mga coordinator na hindi pala siya qualified, hindi ibinibigay ang payout,” he added.
Another loophole acknowledged by DOLE officials is that there is currently no sanction or penalty listed in the TUPAD regulations for those who deliberately join the program despite their being unqualified, or for officials who let these unqualified beneficiaries be included in the list.
"Pero sa palagay ko po, kahit po na hindi nakalagay sa regulations, ang pinaka-sanction po natin siguro ay mapapahiya ka sa iyong constituent dahil inilagay mo siya sa listahan ng beneficiaries kahit na alam mong hindi pala siya pasado sa aming standards," was Recio’s reply to one such question.
Other issues
Other issues raised by local media personnel during the “Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas” forum include the monitoring of establishments that are allegedly violating labor standards, including the employment of child labor and violating salary standards.
Recio noted that DOLE has “strict” criteria for inspecting such establishments and that they have also coordinated with the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) to ensure that small businesses and employers abide by the minimum wage orders.
Meanwhile, in response to another query from OpinYon Laguna, RTWPB Region IV-A Board Secretary Atty. Rio Ariel Soriano explained the disparity in the minimum wage per municipality and city in the region following the recent order raising the minimum wage in the region. (See related article on page 3).
“Ibinabase po natin ang ating itinakdang salary sa income classification ng bawat lugar. Ang kailangan nating maunawaan dito ay mayroon pong pamantayan ang bawat LGU kung saang income [class] sila kasalukuyang nabibilang, at ang ating wage order ay nakatali sa income, kung tutuusin, para magkaroon tayo ng springboard sa inaasahan nating pagpapantay-pantay ng ating mga sahod,” he explained.
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