More than 1.4 million workers have applied for assistance through the COVID Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP) under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan 2), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Thursday.
“As of Dec. 8, a total of 1,462,350 workers from 36,355 establishments have applied for CAMP, exceeding by more than 2,000 workers the number of target beneficiaries of the program,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in a statement.
Bello added that more than half of the PHP4 billion of the program’s allocation has been given to qualified applicants.
“Of the P4 billion CAMP allocation, over P2.3 billion or 54 percent has been disbursed to the beneficiaries,” he said in a virtual press conference on Wednesday.
The DOLE added that applicants for CAMP have only until Friday to apply for the one-time cash assistance of P5,000.
In Labor Advisory No. 33, Bello said the program had reached the number of target beneficiaries.
The program also covers teaching and non-teaching personnel in private educational institutions.
He added that the DOLE regional offices will still evaluate and process CAMP applications sent before the deadline.
In the same advisory, Bello said DOLE regional offices will continue receiving and processing applications for financial assistance under CAMP for tourism sector workers.
Under the program, they are looking to serve over 600,000 tourism workers in the industry, one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. It has a P3 billion budget.
Based on the joint memorandum circular issued by the Labor and Tourism departments, DOLE regional offices have been instructed to process the issuance of financial aid of all tourism-related major industry groups such as administrative and support service activities; accommodation and food service activities; arts, entertainment, and recreation activities, with the exception of gambling and betting services; and other service activities.
As of Thursday, a total of 74,254 tourism sector workers from 2,318 establishments have applied for the grant of financial assistance.
Central Visayas reported the most number of applicant workers, followed by Northern Mindanao, National Capital Region, and the Cordillera Administrative Region.
Also on Thursday, the DOLE lifted the temporary ban on the deployment of nurses, nursing aides and nursing assistants abroad, clearing the way for thousands of nurses to take up jobs overseas.
“The President already approved the lifting of the temporary suspension of deployment of nurses and other medical workers in November,” Bello said.
However, Bello said, the temporary suspension for other medical and allied health care personnel remain effective until lifted.
The POEA lifted the deployment ban for nurses and nursing assistants as the majority of those being deployed are nurses and only about 5 percent are other health care workers.
“At least 95 percent of those we are deploying are actually nurses and nursing aides. This is why we are focused on them in the lifting of the ban,” he said.
He said the annual deployment limit of 5,000 newly hired nurses imposed by the Cabinet-level Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) will take effect next year.
Starting Jan. 1 next year, the POEA will impose an annual deployment ceiling of 5,000 on newly hired health workers disaggregated by occupation, Bello added.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health extended the deadline for health care workers in Metro Manila to submit requirements for their hazard pay to 5 p.m. of Dec. 11.
This developed after health workers groups complained about the one-day deadline for their requirements.
Earlier Thursday, the DOH Center for Health Development (CHD) in the National Capital Region participated in a dialogue with health care workers union leaders and the Hospital Industry Tripartite Council facilitated by the DOLE.
Acknowledging the limited number of working days left in the year to process the health care worker benefits, the parties agreed to move the deadline to the end of the week.
