ENLISTMENT. Informal workers in Ilocos Norte register for the Tulong Pangkabuhayan para sa mga Disadvantage/Displaced Workers program of the Department of Labor and Employment on Thursday (May 19, 2022) An additional PHP30 million is expected to be released for the continued implementation of the program this year. (Photo by Leilanie G. Adriano) LAOAG CITY -Informal workers in Ilocos Norte who lost their jobs to the pandemic and have yet to avail of any government aid may still qualify to get cash assistance under the Department of Labor and Employment's (DOLE) livelihood program. Through the "Tulong Pangkabuhayan para sa mga Disadvantage/Displaced Workers (TUPAD), the DOLE has allotted an additional PHP30 million for the province, according to Ann Marie Lizette B. Atuan, head of the provincial Public Employment Service Office (PESO). "This is apart from the PHP20 million downloaded funds that were released last April and benefited our constituents, particularly the displaced workers," she said in an interview Thursday. To avail of the program, Atuan said interested individuals may pre-register at the Ilocos Norte Capitol for quick validation purposes by their respective local government unit. Once they qualify for the program, the worker-beneficiary will receive PHP5,100 and will be hired for 15 days to perform light work in the barangay such as street sweeping and cleaning of public facilities, tree planting, and coastal clean-up, among others. The work schedule, however, varies and is adjustable. Even during the election period, the implementation of TUPAD did not stop as it has been exempted from the election ban. Of the total PHP44 million in wages that was released in the Ilocos Region under this program for the first quarter of 2022, a total of 12,386 informal workers benefited. In the entire region, Pangasinan has the most number of beneficiaries with a total of 8,968, followed by Ilocos Norte with 1,198, Ilocos Sur with 1,276 and La Union, 944. In an earlier interview with TUPAD beneficiaries, they acknowledged that the emergency livelihood aid program has saved them when their source of income was affected by the pandemic. "We are so grateful to have been part of a program that has recreated jobs and provided a respite for those of us who were most affected by the pandemic," said Amy Salvador, a salon worker from Laoag City. (PNA) }