DOLE inks pact to hire 5,754 contact tracers

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has signed an inter-agency agreement with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to hire 5,754 contact tracers, an official said yesterday.

The hiring of contact tracers will be done through DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay para sa ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.

“The government believes contact tracing is one of the key measures to arrest the mounting number of COVID-19 infections in the country,” Bello said.

He said P280.7 million chargeable to the DOLE’s 2021 budget shall be used to pay the contact tracers.

Under the agreement, DOLE shall hire the contract tracers while the DILG will facilitate the creation of a selection committee for the hiring of contact tracers.

The MMDA will be tasked to assist in the dissemination of information on the hiring of TUPAD contact tracers and monitor the implementation of the project.

TUPAD is DOLE’s safety net program to help cushion the impact of the COVID pandemic on informal sector workers, particularly unpaid family workers and the self-employed.

DOLE decided to shift its TUPAD program to contact tracing to help local governments handle the rise in COVID-19 cases.