Vico: Sorry for chaos at Pasig job drive

MANILA, Philippines — The Pasig City government apologized to the public yesterday after chaos broke out at the opening of applications for the government’s emergency employment program for disadvantaged informal sector workers.

Mayor Vico Sotto said the queue for applications to receive the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) at the Plaza Bonifacio and RAVE Senior Citizen’s Park was orderly at first, based on reports from the local peace and order department.

However, an applicant reportedly shouted that the queues would be sorted per barangay, which prompted confusion and disorderly queueing in Plaza Bonifacio.

At the RAVE Park, an applicant was said to have pushed the gates open, prompting other applicants to rush into the venue.

“Our peace and order officers and local police were in full force and quick to act, that’s why the situations in the two venues were pacified promptly. (The application is via) drop box and there are no interviews, that’s why the queues dissipated quickly despite being long,” Sotto said in a statement.

TUPAD is the Department of Labor and Employment’s emergency employment program for displaced or disadvantaged informal sector workers.

Responding to appeals to hold TUPAD applications per barangay, Sotto said the city’s Public Employment Service Office (PESO) encountered several logistical and bureaucratic issues.

“There were problems in the list of some barangays. There were some barangays wherein purely relatives of barangay staff members are on the list,” he said.

The mayor also said there were instances in which the slots were exceeded, which caused problems for the PESO.

“That’s why the PESO decided to do a first-come, first-served basis drop box system, to prevent using connections as leverage to get applications,” he said.