EMPLOYERS will no longer be required to submit their company payroll in order to avail of the government’s cash assistance for workers affected by the disruption from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

In a briefing Wednesday, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles said Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III has announced that “any proof of payment of salaries and wages will be sufficient compliance with the requirement.”

“Secretary Bello also announced that the DoLE (Department of Labor and Employment) is no longer strictly requiring the submission of the company payroll in the establishment report,” said Mr. Nograles, spokesperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

DoLE’s cash subsidy program for workers affected by the lockdown in Luzon, the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program (CAMP), must be applied for by employers.

It covers a one-time cash assistance of P5,000 per employee.

The IATF-EID recently approved an additional P5 billion on top of the P2 billion allocated for worker assistance programs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Based on DoLE’s data as of April 4, a total of 102,895 formal sector workers have received their subsidy under CAMP. — Gillian M. Cortez

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR