Over 600 Capiznons hit by red tide avail of TUPAD assistance

ROXAS CITY- True to its mandate of providing emergency employment in times of calamity, DOLE responded to the effect of the red tide that hit the fisherfolks in the province of Capiz. The phenomenon that spread widely along the provincial and municipal waters caused a sudden impact to the livelihood of the vulnerable sector that depends on fishing and shellfish farming.

DOLE helping hands have extended a total of Php3,024,000.00 TUPAD (TulongPanghanapbuhay Para sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced workers) assistance to 672 fisherfolks since the red tide occurred in the affected areas.

The municipality of Pilar accounted with the highest number of affected workers at 270, while Roxas City followed with 254. In the towns of Pontevedra there were 57; Sapian, 45; Panay, 25; Ivisan,17; and President Roxas,4.

Though the directives of Regional Director Atty. Sixto T. Rodriguez, Jr., DOLE RO6 – Capiz Field Office monitored closely the cases and facilitated immediately the requests for the implementation of TUPAD in the affected areas.

Each beneficiary received Php4,500.00 wages for the 10-day clean-up and gardening in their respective localities. On top of the wages, the beneficiaries were also provided with personal protective equipment (PPEs) and were enrolled with the GSIS group personal accident
insurance.

The assistance according to Atty. Rodriguez, was intended to help financially the beneficiaries and to mitigate the impact of the red tide phenomenon to their livelihood.