The city government of Manila has nothing to do with TUPAD funds.
This was stressed by Mayor Honey Lacuna saying all the more that the city has nothing to so with the way such funds is being distributed or paid out to its recipients. Lacuna reiterated earlier pronouncements she had made that TUPAD, which stands for Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers, is from the national government, particularly the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). The mayor once again made the said clarification when, during a recent Kalinga sa Maynila forum, a former teacher brought up a complaint about the distribution of TUPAD funds in her barangay.
Lacuna said that many times in the past, her office had also received various complaints with regard the distribution of TUPAD funds.
Time and again, the lady mayor would patiently explain that such funds does not fall under the city government and as such, no one in City Hall has a say as to how said money should be distributed.
As such, she made an appeal to those concerned to make known to their recipients that the local government has nothing to do with TUPAD funds.
In Manila, Lacuna said that the city government sticks to the lists being given by the barangays when it comes to paying out cash aid.
TUPAD is a community-based package of assistance that provides emergency employment for displaced workers, underemployed and seasonal workers, for a minimum period of 10 days, with the pertinent Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Field Office, in this case the DOLE-NCR-Manila Field Office, which schedules the orientation seminars to beneficiaries, before they work and are granted their salaries.(JERRY S. TAN)
