Liloan program to help jobless

CEBU, Philippines - The municipal government of Liloan will launch today a program that would help workers who have suddenly been terminated from work.

The program named “Liloan Unemployment Assistance” aims to provide financial assistance to be given weekly to a worker that has suddenly been terminated from his work.

Liloan town Mayor Vincent Franco "Duke" Frasco will lead town officials, department heads, employees, barangay officials, and employees in launching the program.

Since 2008 the world has been experiencing a recession known as the Global Economic Crisis.

Local and interna-tional corporations located in the Province of Cebu have had to retrench and/or limit the number of work hours in order to cope with the economic crisis.

Lilo-an, with a population of over a 100,000 as of 2009 and with the highest population growth rate in the entire Province of Cebu at ±5.5 percent, is directly affected by the economic downturn.

The Lilo-an Unem-ployment Assistance Program (LUAP) is designed to aid currently unemployed constituents of the town.

Through the LUAP, an unemployed constituent of Lilo-an who qualifies as a beneficiary, will receive weekly payments to compensate them for unearned wages (base salary exclusive of benefits and bonuses) during the period of unemployment.

This assistance will ensure that while the worker searches for new employment, he will be able to afford some of life’s necessities, primarily food, shelter, and transportation.

In order to qualify as an LUAP beneficiary, a worker must meet all of the following requirements:

Registered voter of the Municipality of Lilo-an, Cebu, currently unemployed (the period of unemployment, of which, has not exceeded three months from date of termination), loss of employment due to reasons beyond the control of the worker and at no fault of the worker (as certified by the former employer).

Must have been employed with the former employer for at least one year or more (as certified by the former employer), must be capable of work (health, age, etc.) and actively searching for new work (at least three job interviews per week).

It further said that the worker must be between the age of 18 and 65 years old, meets the minimum and does not exceed the maximum monthly salary grade as specified by the town.