While the rest of the country has already been placed under the General Community Quarantine, Mandaue City in Cebu remained under Enhanced Community Quarantine. It was due to skyrocketing cases of COVID-19 patients in the city. And because of the low economic growth in the province, as it is with the rest of the world, it is already evident that a large number of regular employees have lost their jobs and income.
1Pacman Party-list Representative Mikee Romero sees this as an opportunity to help Mandaue citizens through TUPAD recently. Through this project, the Deputy Speaker aims to mitigate the impact of the country’s economic decline on informal workers. As the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ordered in May 2020, TUPAD will help these people recover from the loss of income due to the enhanced community quarantine.
TUPAD for Mandaue workers
TUPAD or Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers is a project of the DOLE implemented by the members of the House of Representatives. The program aims to provide emergency employment for displaced workers, underemployed and seasonal workers for a minimum period of 10 days, but not to exceed a maximum of 30 days, depending on the nature of work to be performed.
As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, the number of opportunities to work and earn income in Cebu has lowered. This has affected more and more people in the province. In May, 2 firms closed down for business which affected about 64 employees in one day alone. And since then, many have already been relieved from their jobs and the unemployment rate has significantly increased.
In his efforts to continuously give assistance to the less fortunate, the Partylist Coalition Foundation Inc. (PCFI) President aid 2,000 beneficiaries from the informal sector through TUPAD program. Qualified individuals were provided with jobs through the government’s social community, economic, and agroforestry community projects that need skilled workers who can help then through repair, maintenance, rehabilitation, and production.
Romero, a man with a heart to help
This is not the first time that Romero aided our fellow citizens in Cebu.
Popular for his “Iskolar kami ni Cong. Mikee Romero” project, Romero has always been dedicated in promoting the welfare of less fortunate Filipinos. Back in 2019, he started to provide livelihood prohect through jobs and free technical training to 400 Cebuanos such as Housekeeping NC II and Pastry Production. And as of today, it already reached to 5,000 individuals with combinations of collegiate and vocational training scholars through TESDA.
In the past, he has conducted over 25,000 feeding programs and helped children with congenital heart diseases (CHD) through medical and financial assistance called “Save a Child’s Heart”.
“Serving our countrymen is always my passion and supporting their livelihood is always my priority,” Romero concluded.
