The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Rose de la Cruz
Just like every other grant programs which are not treated seriously by their recipients, the Department of Labor and Employment’s TUPAD (Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers) grant program– exacerbates underemployment, had failed to lead to a sustainable, quality job, according to a study of the UP.
Assistant Prof. Benjamin Velasco of the UP Diliman School of Labor and Industrial Relations (UP SOLAIR) said TUPAD is “broken” and “dysfunctional” as it enabled patronage politics and exacerbated underemployment instead of providing sustainable work for informal workers and the long-term unemployed, Business World reported.
He urged government entities to delink public employment from patronage politics.
He said there is need “to establish a central registry of people outside the labor force, unemployed and underemployed. Cross-reference with the Social Security System registry of laid-off workers. Beneficiaries should be picked from a central registry and kept out of the hands of politicians.”
TUPAD, a cash-for-work program that has disbursed over P5.65 billion in wages, aided over one million workers from April to June 2024, the DoLE statement last Thursday.
The temporary jobs offered under the TUPAD program include maintenance and roadside cleaning of public facilities and infrastructure, community vegetable gardening under Project LAWA at BINHI, setting up and maintaining KADIWA sites, beautifying public roads, dredging of canals, tree planting, and coastal clean-up.
TUPAD complements the DoLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP), which provides livelihood assistance and emergency employment. DILEEP beneficiaries have received over P6.36 billion in grants.
Beneficiaries in the Bicol Region topped 141,000, followed by CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) and Central Luzon with over 83,000.
“If about P6 billion was spent for one million TUPAD beneficiaries, it means just P6,000 was given per beneficiary. This implies short-term work of 10 days to sweep the streets,” Velasco told Business World.
“Public employment must be for a minimum of 100 days in a year. Don’t create more underemployed. Provide gainful and decent employment. Prioritize climate jobs, not roadside sweeping,” he said.
The DoLE Integrated Livelihood Program or the Kabuhayan Program component under DILEEP provides grant assistance for the startup, enhancement, or restoration of lost livelihood for disadvantaged people or groups in the informal sector.
Those eligible for TUPAD grants are: household helpers, jeepney and PUV drivers, and ride-hailing app drivers; small business owners, vendors and dishwashers; senior citizens fit to work and independent contractors.
Those not eligible are grant recipients from the Department of Agriculture and those under 18 years old due to anti child labor laws.