Nearly 500 vendors from the Roxas Night Market have received their first salary from the city government.
On Thursday, Mayor Sara Duterte supervised the releasing of salaries at the Davao City Recreation Center. She wanted to monitor if the people are following the physical distancing protocol and the activity was well-organized.
The vendors have been enrolled under the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Displaced Workers (Tupad) program after City Hall ordered a halt to the Roxas Night Market to contain COVID-19.
According to the City Information Office (CIO), 498 Tupad beneficiaries are food vendors and massage therapists who lost their source of income after the city government closed the Roxas Night Market on March 12, 2020.
The affected workers were immediately enrolled under TUPAD to cushion the impact of the protocols set to control the spread of the virus. Their job includes the cleaning of public facilities, cleaning/declogging of canals and other community-based maintenance work.
“They each received P4,356 for 11 days of service from March 17 to 31,” TUPAD spokesperson Norman Baloro said.
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, but not to exceed a maximum of 30 days, depending on the nature of work.
Aside from the Roxas Night Market vendors and massage therapists, the city government also enrolled public utility drivers to the same program.
Baloro said PUJ drivers are due to receive their salaries next week.
