Philippine Labor Department’s Cash Aid Program Runs Out of Funds
Philippine Labor Department’s Cash Aid Program Runs Out of Funds
(Bloomberg) -- The Philippines Labor Department said it has used up almost all the 1.6 billion pesos ($31.5 million) in funds for a one-time cash assistance for hundreds of thousands of workers sidelined by the pandemic.
The department has stopped accepting applications after giving out 5,000 pesos each to more than 236,000 workers from 10,600 establishments since March 23, using up about 1.2 billion pesos of its fund. It needs to pay another 85,563 workers in the coming days.
The Philippines, which has the most number of coronavirus cases in Southeast Asia, has approved a $1 billion aid package to subsidize wages of workers of small businesses. As of Thursday, the nation has 5,660 Covid-19 cases, with deaths of 362.
“We seek the full understanding of employers and workers who were unable to receive the assistance. The requests simply ballooned beyond” the department’s resources, it said, asking other agencies and Congress to come up with new programs.
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