DoLE to hire 5,000 Boracay informal workers, IPs for island rehab work

THE DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment (DoLE) will hire 5,000 informal workers and indigenous people (IPs) members in Boracay as part of its 30-day emergency employment program amid the island’s closure starting April 26. They will be given jobs relating to the island rehabilitation such as mangrove planting and coastal cleanup, with a daily minimum wage of P325.50, according to DoLE-Region 6 Information Officer Amy Judicpa. Among the 3,000 informal workers are drivers, boatmen, vendors, manicurist, and others with a livelihood but do not have direct employers. The 2,000 IPs, meanwhile, will come from the Ati group. “We have already profiled and identified 1,044 workers. But we already sought help from the barangay officials to fast-track the profiling,” Ms. Judicpa said. The workers will start with their new jobs on April 27. DoLE-6 has a pending request before the main office to extend the emergency employment program by three months. Data from the Malay municipal government indicates that there are about 19,000 informal workers and 17,000 from the formal sector in Boracay. — Louine Hope U. Conserva