DOLE’s TUPAD program faces budget cut

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)’s subsidy program for displaced and vulnerable workers is facing a substantial budget cut in 2023 as the country gears toward the “new normal.”

DOLE programs have budget augmentations for next year, except for the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD), which is set to be slashed under the proposed 2023 national budget, according to Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma.

“This is because we are now gearing toward the so-called new normal,” Laguesma said in Filipino during a recent television interview.

He noted that the DOLE implemented TUPAD as a temporary response to the COVID-19 pandemic to help displaced workers, or those who lost their jobs after many establishments nationwide shut down their businesses, survive.

The Department of Budget and Management proposed to cut the DOLE’s budget for next year to only P25.8 billion, a sizable reduction from this year’s P36.9 billion.

Of that amount, P14.8 billion, or more than half of the total budget, is set for TUPAD, which was given a total of P25 billion for this year.

Even given the budget cut, Laguesma assured the public that the DOLE could continue implementing its programs that benefit Filipino workers.

“We will make do with whatever allocation (Congress) will give and strengthen the implementation of programs with the help of the private sector,” he said.

Last year, the DOLE suspended the implementation of TUPAD in certain areas due to alleged irregularities.

The agency sought the assistance of the National Bureau of Investigation in probing the reported anomaly.