MANILA, Philippines — The labor department is extending another batch of cash subsidies to workers after securing P16.1 billion in fresh funding under the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act. Some 547,000 workers who previously applied for cash aid but unable to get assistance will be prioritized. Separately, the labor department also received P3.1 billion under Bayanihan 2 to aid workers in the tourism industry heavily battered by lost of livelihood as a result of the health crisis. Previously, the labor department has extended cash aid to 618,722 formal sector workers, 150,000 displaced overseas Filipino workers, and 337,198 informal sector workers using a P5.49 billion fund sourced from its own budget and emergency funds. The labor department had to temporarily halt its distribution of cash aid for formal workers in April as it announced the funds for the program “is very close to be depleted.”

Source: Philippine Star October 30, 2020 08:13 UTC