A total of 786 Indigenous People belonging to the B’laan Tribe in Brgy. Little Baguio, Malita, Davao Occidental received P4.6M worth of assistance from the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program of the Department of Labor and Employment.

The beneficiaries were among the affected families during the cholera outbreak in their community last April 2021. Through TUPAD, the beneficiaries were employed for a total of 15 days doing tree planting, repair of barangay roads, and community clean-up.

“Bong gami pasalamat kay balni gami ayuda na ta gambayod gami gatas i dad ngo mi ke amse (We are really thankful for this assistance. We can now buy food and milk for our children),” shared Mr. Damaso Kido Waling, one of the beneficiaries.

The payout activity was conducted by DOLE XI-Davao Occidental Field Office on July 8-10, 2021 in B’laan National High School.

DOLE XI OIC-Regional Director Atty. Randolf C. Pensoy commended the resilience of the IP community and their ability to withstand adversity. “Rest assured that DOLE XI will continue to be one of your support systems to overcome these challenges,” he added. TUPAD is an Emergency Employment Program (EEP) of DOLE that is a community-based package of assistance providing employment for displaced workers, underemployed and seasonal workers, for a minimum period of 10 days, depending on the nature of work to be performed.