The Quezon City government launched a financial assistance program called Alagang QC Program for Displaced Workers or “Alagang QC” for employees or workers that were displaced for the last six months prior to their application and are now actively looking for new employment.
“Ang programang ito ay paraan ng lokal na pamahalaan para matulungan ang QCitizens nating nawalan o natanggal sa trabaho dahil sa pandemya at krisis pang-ekonomiya,” said Mayor Joy Belmonte, who asked the Quezon City Council to pass City Ordinance No. 3095, S-2022 which established the said financial assistance program.
“Magagamit nila itong financial assistance para patuloy na itaguyod ang kanilang pamilya habang naghahanap ng bagong papasukan o sa pag-aayos ng kanilang requirements.”
“Magagamit nila itong financial assistance para patuloy na itaguyod ang kanilang pamilya habang naghahanap ng bagong papasukan o sa pag-aayos ng kanilang requirements,” Belmonte added.
Workers who have been out of work involuntarily for the past six (6) months are eligible for financial assistance of P500 per week for a maximum of eight (8) weeks or equivalent to up to P4,000.
This aims to assist with the cost of finding a new job and will benefit the city’s workforce from both the formal and informal sectors as well as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
For this year alone, the city allotted P60 million for the program. The Public Employment Service Office (PESO) will be the implementing agency, with the responsibility of facilitating online applications through the Quezon City e-Services Website (http://qceservices.quezoncity.gov.ph).
“Makakaasa ang lahat ng manggagawa ng lungsod Quezon–pormal man, impormal, o OFWs na patuloy na maghahatid ng mga maaasahang programa ang PESO gaya nito,” said PESO Manager Rogelio Reyes.
The first batch of beneficiaries includes 25 displaced workers from Colegio de San Lorenzo.
The first batch of beneficiaries includes 25 displaced workers from Colegio de San Lorenzo. They were former faculty members, administrative staff, and utility workers who were directly affected by the school’s recent closure due to the low turn-out of enrollees and the pandemic’s aftereffects.
In cooperation with its community-based partner organizations, PESO has identified an additional 25 repatriated OFW beneficiaries.
This initiative is a first of its kind in the country, as the local government emphasized the importance of labor as the main driver of the economy and to pave the way for economic rehabilitation and recovery.
According to the most recent data from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), there have been over 50,000 displaced workers in Quezon City since the beginning of the year.
The majority of whom were either retrenched or laid off as a result of the pandemic and inevitable economic crisis, which will almost certainly lead to prejudice in our country.
