418 typhoon victims avail of work program

CEBU, Philippines - Close to 500 typhoon victims in Northern Cebu were the first beneficiary of the emergency work program initiated by the Department of Labor and Employment in coordination with the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority.

DOLE Cebu provincial field office head, Maria Grace Diaz, said that a total of  418 people from the towns of  Bantayan, Sta.Fe, Madridejos, San Remigio, Daanbantayan and Pilar benefited the program.

The program provides a 15-day work period on government projects at P330 per day wage and that includes premiums on the social welfare benefits.

According to Diaz, they also assisted typhoon victims through the job fairs sponsored by the DOLE and local government units in Cebu.

TESDA is also conducting trainings among typhoon victims in northern Cebu and provided them a pay.

TESDA- Regional Director Rossana Urdaneta said their agency and DOLE will hold the Skills Training and Emergency Employment Towards Recovery for people in the province who have lost their livelihood due to the recent typhoon.

Urdaneta said that they are now in the process of identifying the beneficiary of the training in masonry, carpentry, electrical installation and plumbing.

“We will only do the critical competencies so they can start without also jeopardizing the quality of the training,” said Urdaneta.

Trainees will also be receiving money from DOLE in line with its emergency employment program during the training while the DSWD will also be handing out money to the trainees under its Cash for Work program.

Meanwhile, the province’s Task Force Paglig-on held a workshop yesterday at the Capitol to come up with a reconstruction plan for Northern Cebu.

Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III, who created the task force in an Executive Order 14 issued Wednesday, said that the workshop will give the provincial government a roadmap for its recovery plan.

Task Force head, Baltazar Tribunalo Jr., on his part, also wants to improve the coordination among government agencies.

He also said that their priority concerns for now are shelters and livelihood for the affected families.

Efren Carreon, National Economic Development Authority 7 officer-in-charge, said that they have to work with the provincial government and put things together into a rehabilitation plan to chart their directions together with the other sectors.

The first draft of the rehabilitation plan will be finished within the month. The processing and consolidating of the first draft is set today while the workshop will continue in January next year.— (FREEMAN)