MOLE presents 2021 priority programs for Tawi-Tawi

 Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE) Minister Romeo Sema visits Tawi-Tawi on April 6 – 9, 2021, to lay down priority programs and services for the said island province. (Photo courtesy of MOLE-BARMM)

COTABATO CITY – Minister Romeo Sema, of the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE), presented the priority programs and services to constituents of Tawi-Tawi during his visit on April 6 to 9.

The programs centered on rural employment and entrepreneurship, employment assistance for the youth and victims of disasters, elimination of child labor, reintegration of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and assistance for repatriated overseas workers.

Livelihood assistance for rural workers association

Under the Bangsamoro Rural Employment thru Entrepreneurial Development (BREED) program, qualified groups of workers from the informal sector such as farmers, fisherfolks, women, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized groups, will be provided with livelihood assistance worth P25,000 as their capital to start a business.

At least 150 rural workers associations across the BARMM are targeted as beneficiaries. Of these groups, 20 shall be chosen from Tawi-Tawi.

      The total budget for the said assistance is P3.7 million.

Sema said the groups will also be provided with technical and financial literacy orientation to enable them to efficiently manage their businesses.

He added that former combatants of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) may avail the programs as long as they organize into formal groups.

Bridging employment assistance for the youth

For high school students and out-of-school youth, the Special Program for Employment of Students will provide jobs to students during the summer period. 

A stipend amounting to 60 percent of the minimum wage will be provided by the MOLE, while the other 40 percent share shall be shouldered by the partner-employer.

The program has a total budget of P5.4 million, which targets 1,500 recipients across the region. 200 of them will be coming from Tawi-Tawi.

Fresh college graduates are also provided opportunities to work under the Government Internship Program (GIP). For three months, a monthly stipend equivalent to 75 percent of the minimum wage will be provided by MOLE, while the remaining 25 percent share shall come from partner-employers.

1,900 recipients across the region have been targeted under this program; 150 of whom shall come from Tawi-Tawi.

On Wednesday, April 7, Sema and Tawi-Tawi Provincial Governor Ysmael Sali signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA), allowing 15 fresh graduates to avail the said program. 

Disaster recovery through employment

To prepare for the unprecedented effects of disasters on employment, the Community Emergency Employment Program (CEEP) will provide jobs for members of the informal sectors for 15 days immediately after an emergency or calamity.

“We also have the CEEP where workers in informal sectors will be employed for 15 days immediately after emergency or calamity for them to earn money and recover from such onslaught,” Sema said.

The program has 1,750 recipients across the region, with a total fund of P7.8 million. 250 of the recipients will be coming from the province of Tawi-Tawi.

Eliminating child labor in BARMM

Under the Sagip Batang Manggagawa (SBM) program, MOLE will identify children who are forced to work, compromising their right to education and welfare. Each of the identified children will be provided with P20,000, which shall be managed by their parents through putting up a business.

Given a P15-million budget, the program has 750 recipients across BARMM; 110 of them shall be coming from Tawi-Tawi.

Reintegration program for contractual and repatriated OFWs

Sema said those overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from BARMM who have finished their contracts and have no plans on going back will be provided with livelihood assistance worth P20,000 each.

2,450 recipients have been targeted across the region, where 200 will be from Tawi-Tawi. The program has an allotted budget of P49 million.

For repatriated overseas workers from BARMM, P10,000 will be given to chosen 250 recipients upon their arrival at their homes. The program has an allotted budget of P2.5 million.

Meanwhile, Sema said that for the year 2021, the ministry has established field offices in the province of Tawi-Tawi and other cluster areas for an efficient delivery of necessary socio-economic interventions from the Bangsamoro government.

For Tawi-Tawi, a total share of 11.5 million will be rolled out for the entire operation of MOLE in the said province. (BANGSAMORO INFORMATION OFFICE / MINDANAO EXPOSE’)