Naga City--Balete River in this city, pathway of the world renowned Peñafrancia Festival Fluvial procession, will become clean and green soon. This was assured by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Bikol Regional Director Ernesto C. Bihis during a radio interview Monday morning.
Following the release of a P500,000 emergency employment grant under the “Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers” (TUPAD) program last week, DOLE provincial office Camarines Sur headed by Ms. Ana Christine Soriano and Naga City mayor Jess Robredo said that the cleaning program shall commence at 7:30 a.m. on March 21.
Some 30 workers, displaced by the global challenges (GC), will be employed by the clean-up program for one month. “They will receive the minimum wage specified under Wage Order No. 13,” Bihis said.
The cleaning will start at the river side of the Naga Bridge at the city up to the end of procession point in Basilica. “This program will not only help the displaced workers but the entire devotees of the Peñafrancia Festival. When the riverside is cleaned people can easily spot ‘Ina’ during traslacion,” Bihis, a Marian devotee, stressed.
The TUPAD program was conceptualized by DOLE Sec. Marianito D. Roque to counter effects of the GC and provide emergency employment to displaced workers for at least one month. “It is not a permanent program but it will give a leeway to the workers to look for opportunities after they were displaced,” Bihis ended. (DOLE/ PIA)