A July 4, 2011 press release by the Department of Labor and Employment
Following-up the release of almost half a million pesos in emergency job assistance for flood-hit Cotabato City last week, Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda D. Baldoz yesterday approved the release of an additional P423,000 to assist the municipality of Pigcawayan, Cotabato. The town was also heavily affected by the recent floods.
“This amount shall be used to pay for the wages of 100 laborers who will be employed to de-clog the irrigation and waterways system in Pigcawayan,” said Baldoz who favorably acted on the recommendation of DOLE-Regional Office No. 12 Gloria Tango.
With the additional amount added to last week’s contribution of P400,000, DOLE assistance to the flood-hit region summed up to almost a million pesos, or P823,000.
The labor and employment chief said the P423,000 additional assistance will be used to pay for 60 percent of the total wages of 100 workers at P4,230 per beneficiary. While the remaining 40 percent or P282,000 will be shouldered by the local government unit (LGU) of Pigcawayan.
The de-clogging of Pigcawayan’s irrigation and waterways will be under the auspices of the DOLE’s “Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD).” Funding would come from the Department’s Adjustment Measures Program (AMP), a program aimed to alleviate the plight of workers displaced by natural and man-made calamities.
In another development, Baldoz, also the chair of the Board of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, hailed TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva’s initiative of complementing the DOLE’s financial assistance efforts in Cotabato by providing livelihood training for the utilization of water hyacinths that clogged the rivers, canals, and waterways in the region.
Villanueva had earlier apprised Secretary Baldoz on the immediate dispatch of several TESDA trainers from Metro Manila and other regions to begin the livelihood training to transform water hyacinths into useful and saleable items.
Noting the devastation wrought by the calamity, the TESDA chief said that, “we believe this training opportunity will give the people of Cotabato, especially those displaced by the flood, a ray of hope for livelihood opportunities to help them get back on their feet.”
The training will take five days during which the trainees are expected to learn about newspaper and water lily bag weaving, as well as making knitted plastic sando bags and accessories from old magazine strips. The TESDA will also teach trainers in communities where there are existing production facilities to minimize the cost of training, and ensure that would-be-trainers acquire the necessary skills to produce quality products ready for marketing.
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