Make access to cash aid easy, DOLE urged

MANILA, Philippines — The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has warned that hundreds of thousands of workers in the formal sector are at risk as hundreds of companies have failed to apply for or are still awaiting action on their applications for the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)’s financial assistance program during the enhanced community quarantine.

In a statement issued on Friday, TUCP president Raymond Mendoza appealed to the DOLE to make the requirements for its COVID-19 Adjustment Management Program “realistic… Easy access to the P5,000 CAMP as a social safety net for employees should be foremost in their policy and DOLE should not create bureaucratic hurdles.”

He said DOLE’s Department Order 209 failed to consider that to “strictly anchor access on submission of both an establishment form and the certified payroll of the company would defeat the purpose of the safety net.”

TUCP vice president Luis Corral urged DOLE to recognize alternative documents such as the certified list of employees from the human resources officer or general manager or a similar document, with corresponding daily rate, ATM account and address with mobile number; or a copy of the company’s latest Social Security System remittance; or verifiable handwritten payslips.

“CAMP is a safety net, access should not be made so complicated. Otherwise social tension will escalate,” he said.

Mendoza said DOLE should reframe the program to cover all minimum wage earners, regardless of the employment size of the company.

He added that the DOLE should make the one-time subsidy “monthly if the lockdown will run much longer.”