Senate candidate Roque calling for jobless assistance program to be made permanent

HERMINIO L. ROQUE, JR., the former Palace spokesman who is running for a Senate seat, said on Tuesday that if elected, he will seek to pass legislation that would make more permanent an unemployment-aid program that was rolled out during the pandemic.

I will file a bill that would institutionalize TUPAD (Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers) so that it will become permanent like the 4Ps,” he said in Filipino in a statement.

TUPAD is an assistance package run by the Department of Labor and Employment, seeking to employ displaced workers in community projects.

The 4Ps (the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) are a cash-transfer program for poor families that agree to meet key developmental milestones related to women’s health and child schooling, among others.

He said the micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprise sector needs a specialized agency to support it with microfinance and other programs.

Mr. Roque also ran for the Senate in 2019 but withdrew for health reasons.

Before becoming the President’s spokesman, he served in the House of Representatives.

He is currently on the slate of Senate candidates endorsed by the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, whose Presidential candidate is former Senator Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan