On Sunday, April 12, 2020, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III appealed to employers — especially to big businesses and conglomerates-to continue paying their workers during the enhanced community quarantine, which has been extended to April 30.
Bello said, "I once again knock in the kind hearts of our employers, especially the conglomerates and big businesses. Please extend further your generosity to your employees and workers. Your good-heartedness and compassion is a great help to the government."
In the same news release, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) revealed that more than a million workers in the formal sector have been displaced by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is on top of the almost 250 million informal sector workers "needing assistance under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Displaced/Disadvantaged Workers Program - Barangay Ko, Bahay ko (TUPAD-BKBK) program."
As of April 11, it's been reported than most of the displaced workers are in Metro Manila, with the figure being around 246,810; next is Central Luzon at 179,875. A lot of the employees and workers affected come from the following industries: manufacturing, hotel, restaurants, tourism, and education.
DOLE has already assisted around 180,000 workers with almost P900 million. With the P1.61 billion budget, they'll be able to help close to 322,000 people.
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