DOT approves P2.8 billion cash payout for tourism workers

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) has approved a total of P2.8 billion for the  cash payouts of more than 570,000 displaced workers, but admitted the financial assistance program may not be enough to cover all travel personnel affected by the pandemic.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat yesterday said the DOT has approved a cash payout of  P5,000 each for 571,919 displaced tourism workers.

Broken down, about P1.8 billion has been remitted and released to payment centers to benefit more than 367,000 grantees nationwide.

On the other hand, some P1.1 billion is pending for disbursement, and Puyat said this would be handed over to over 203,000 workers who lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

In spite of the utilization, Puyat admitted the P3.1 billion allocation for a one time cash subsidy for affected tourism workers may not be enough to cover the needs of all affected workes in  the tourism industry.

“The amount is really short because as of 2019, there are 5.7 million people who have jobs because of tourism. This was 13.5 percent of the work force of the Philippines, but the cash aid will only cover about 600,000  workers,” Puyat said.

Under Bayanihan 2, a total of P3.1 billion was set aside to provide financial assistance to tourism workers who lost their jobs when the Philippines shut its borders to foreign travelers.

Likewise, domestic travel has yet to pick up pace, especially in Luzon, with Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces reverting to lockdown during the summer period.