TIAONG: About 4,400 indigent residents of this town received cash assistance on Thursday through different national and local government programs.
A total of 600 individuals received PHP5,200 each via the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay Para sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) program, while 2,000 individuals received PHP2,000 each from the town’s Local Government Social Fund.
Additionally, a total of 1,800 individuals each received PHP2,500 from the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program through the office of Senator Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go.
Mayor Vincent Arjay Mea said about PHP14.5 million in cash assistance was given to the town’s needy residents during the payout event that was held at the Tiaong Convention Center.
Go, who attended the event, also distributed bicycles, shoes, and cell phones to some of the attendees.
Meanwhile, Ahmma Charisma Lobrin-Satumba, director of the Bureau of Work
ers with Special Conditions, said in an online video post that the public should be wary of scams involving the DOLE’s TUPAD program.
She clarified that TUPAD is not a charity program and that money paid to beneficiaries represents compensation for services rendered to the government under various short-term employment contracts.
Lobrin-Satumba also denied reports that TUPAD beneficiaries would receive a flat rate of PHP800 per day.
Instead, she said, they would be paid the equivalent of minimum wage in their respective regions.
‘I would also like to remind TUPAD beneficiaries that you should receive your salaries in full. Do not allow anyone to take a cut from your pay. You worked for it, and you should get your pay in full,’ she said in Filipino.
Source: Philippines News Agency