TACLOBAN CITY – At least 17,791 tourism workers in Eastern Visayas have received P88.95 million cash grant under the Department of Tourism (DOT) coronavirus disease 2019 adjustment measures (CAMP) program this year, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported on Friday(July 2).
As of June 30, the DOLE regional office here has facilitated the payment of cash aid to the tourism workers from the region’s six provinces displaced by the health crisis.
Funded under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, beneficiaries receive a one-time P5,000 financial support from the central government, DOLE Eastern Visayas regional director Henry John Jalbuena said in a media statement.
“DOLE will remain true to its mandate amidst this pandemic and we will continue to implement our programs and services for the benefit of our workers here in the region,” Jalbuena said.
In a phone interview, DOT Eastern Visayas regional director Karina Rosa Tiopes thanked the DOLE for working for the release of funds for workers identified by local government units as displaced by the pandemic.
“We all know that tourism is one of the most affected industries during this pandemic particularly our community-based organizations. Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo- Puyat made sure that these workers will really benefit from the CAMP 2 program of this administration. It’s a challenge to help nearly 18,000 individuals upload their applications for them to benefit from this financial assistance,” Tiopes said.
She urged recipients to use the cash aid to rebuild their livelihood shattered by movement restrictions.
CAMP was first implemented in 2020 benefitting 20,092 displaced private workers in the region.
This year, through the DOLE-DOT Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2021-001, displaced tourism sector workers were included in the cash distribution.
Specifically, recipients are displaced accredited or licensed tour guides; employees of DOT-accredited primary and secondary tourism enterprises; local government unit-licensed primary tourism enterprises; and members of registered community-based tourism organizations.(SARWELL Q. MENIANO/PNA