EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS )

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
Second Regular Session )
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
House Bill No,_7077

Introduced by Representative Vietor A. Yap

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The TUPAD or Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers is a
‘community-based package of assistance that provides for a short-term emergency employment program for
displaced, underemployed and seasonal workers. It is a program that acts as a social safety net to assist
displaced or vulnerable workers in the informal economy and get them back on their feet by providing them
wage employment to mitigate the impact of calamities, disasters, and epidemics on their livelihoods.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused great economic turmoil to all Filipinos and especially to those
‘who have little to no security of tenure in employment. As of April 2020, the Philippine Statistics Authority
(PSA) reports that the country's unemployment rate has jumped to a record of 17.7% or 7.3 million people
jobless due to the lockdowns imposed from the pandemic. ‘The government therefore is tasked to enact and
implement innovative labor policies in order to create economic opportunities for all Filipinos affected by the
pandemic.

As the country moves into the “new normal”, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
implements the TUPAD program as a post-COVID intervention measure to help informal sector workers
recover from economic displacement and loss of income due to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
It is estimated that close to a million workers in the informal economy will benefit from the government's
‘emergency employment program. “In fact, the DOLE is extending the period of the TUPAD program from
ten (10) days to three (3) to six (6) months in order to alleviate the growing economic concerns of
disadvantaged and displaced workers.”

Furthermore, to respond to the urgent needs of the growing number of unemployed and displaced
workers” current crisis, several proposed legislations* have prioritized and provided a substantial amount for
the budget of the TUPAD program in recognition to its beneficial effects.

Thus, it is incumbent upon the State to alleviate the plight of all disadvantaged and displaced
workers in the time of crisis by providing the necessary economic and labor opportunities as soon as
possible. Under this bill, the TUPAD program is institutionalize whereby the DOLE is authorized to
implement, motu proprio employment projects in cases of massive displacements, defines the eligibility of
the beneficiaries qualified in the program, provides for the modes in implementing the program, and ensures
the payment of at least the minimum wage rate for non-agricultural workers in the area of project
implementation,

In view of the foregoing, immediate passage of this bill is earn

Representatjve, 2nd District of Tarlac

" Retrieved from hutps:/news,abs-cbn.com/business/06/05/20/unemployment-soars-in-lockdown-quarter-total-73-
illion-jobless-psa? on June 28, 2020.

* Retrieved from hiips://news.mb com. ph/2020/05/10/doles-tupad-program-to-sid-close-to-|-m-informal-economy
workers! on June 28, 2020.

Retrieved from hiips://ptvnews,ph/dole-prepares-for-tupad-extension/ on June 28, 2020.

* Filed in the 18 Congress: House Bill No, 6815 (25 Billion), HB 6953 (18 Billion) and Senate Bill No. 1564 (15
Billion).



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EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES —_)
Second Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

House Bill No. 7077

Introduced by Representative Vietor A. Yap

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A WAGE EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR
DISPLACED AND/OR VULNERABLEWORKERS INSTITUTIONALIZING FOR THE
PURPOSE THE TULONG PANGHANAPBUHAY SA ATING DISADVANTAGE/DISPLACED
WORKERS (TUPAD) PROGRAM OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND
EMPLOYMENT, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “TUPAD Act.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policies. - The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order
that will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and the people from poverty through
policies and adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an
improved quality of life for all.

It shall improve the quality of life of all Filipino workers through active labor market
policies promoting and facilitating employment generation, human resource development and by
providing displaced and/or vulnerable workers a social safety net from the effects of disasters,
epidemics/outbreaks, pandemics, public health emergencies, war, armed conflict, crises, economic
shocks or income loss brought about by ill-health, disability, work-related injury, unemployment,
work displacements, and other related contingencies.

SEC. 3. Coverage. - This Act shall cover all displaced and/or vulnerable workers affected
by disasters, epidemics/outbreaks, pandemics, public health emergencies, war, armed conflict,
crises, economic shocks or income loss brought about by ill-health, disability, work-related
accidents or injuries, unemployment, work displacements due to business closure, retrenchment,
rightsizing, redundancy technological advances, and other analogous causes.

SEC. 4. Definition of Terms.-As used in this Act:

a) Accredited Co-Partner refers to the program partner, which may be a peoples’ or
workers’ organization, union, association, federation, cooperative, business
association, church-based organization, educational institution, or private foundation,
that has been accredited by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to
implement TUPAD programs and projects using government or public funds;

b) Beneficiary refers to individuals or group of individuals who are qualified recipients
of assistance under TUPAD;

©) Disaster refers to a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society
involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and
impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope


using its own resources, as defined in Republic Act No. 10121, otherwise known as
the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010;

4) Displaced workers refer to workers in the formal and informal economy or self-
employed, whether overseas or local, who became unemployed, underemployed, or
have lost their livelihood due to disasters, epidemics/outbreaks, pandemics, public
health emergencies, war, armed conflict, crises, economic shocks, or income loss
brought about by ill-health, disability, work-related accidents or injuries, business
closure, retrenchment, rightsizing, redundancy, technological advances, and other
analogous adverse events as may be determined by the DOLE;

©) Massive displacement refers to large-scale displacement of workers in the normal
and informal sectors brought about by disasters, epidemics/outbreaks, pandemics,
public health emergencies, war, armed conflict, crises, or economic shocks, among
others, resulting in serious disruption of means of livelihood;

f) Micro-insurance refers to a scheme that provides specific insurance and similar
products and services that meet the needs of the low-income sector for risk
protection and relief against distress, misfortune, and other contingent events;

g) Self-employed refers to individuals who create their own earnings and opportunities
in the form of business, contract work whether overseas or local or freelance
activities;

h) Sub-professionals refer to individuals who hold first level position under the Revised
Administrative Code of 1987, which includes the clerical, trades, crafts and custodial
service positions requiring less than four (4) years of collegiate studies;

i) TUPAD Program is a safety net wage employment assistance program for displaced
and/or vulnerable workers also known as the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating
Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers Program and herein interchangeably referred to
as TUPAD or Program.

i) Underemployed workers refer to employed persons who express the desire to have

additional hours of work in their present job or an additional job, or have a new job
with longer working hours;

k) Vulnerable workers refer to minimum wage earners, working poor, or marginalized
workers, as defined below, whether in an employer-employee relationship in the
public or private sector, or self-employed including the Overseas Filipino Workers
(OFWs), and whose families depend solely on their wages or compensation income
for their minimum basic needs, such as food, health, education, housing and other
essential amenities of life.

i. Minimum wage earners refer to workers in the private sector who are paid
the statutory minimum wage, or to employees in the public sector with
compensation income of not more than the statutory minimum wage in the
non-agricultural sector where he/she is assigned as defined under Republic
‘Act No. 10963, otherwise known as the Tax Reform for Acceleration and
Inclusion (TRAIN) Law;

ii, Working poor refers to individuals and/or groups whose income fall below
the poverty threshold as defined by the National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA) and/or cannot afford in a sustained manner to provide
their minimum basic needs of food, health, education housing and other
essential amenities of life;

iii, Marginalized workers refer to workers who have not benefitted from
education, health, employment, and other opportunities by reasons of
poverty, geographical inaccessibility, culture, gender, among others, and to
workers who are less likely to have formal work arrangements, and are more
likely to lack decent working conditions, adequate social security, and whose
employment is characterized by inadequate earnings, low productivity, and
difficult conditions of work that undermine their fundamental rights;

1) Wage employment refers to the act of generating one’s income from an employer-
employee relationship.


Article TI
‘Wage Employment Assistance Program
for Displaced and/or Vulnerable Workers or TUPAD Program

SEC. 5. Wage Employment Assistance Program for Displaced and/or Vulnerable Workers
or TUPAD Program. - The TUPAD Program is a social safety net designed to assist displaced
and/or vulnerable workers and their families, and get them back on their feet by providing them
‘wage employment if they fall on hard times due to disasters, epidemics, war, armed conflict, crises,
economic shocks or income loss brought about by ill-health, disability, work-related accidents or
injuries, unemployment work displacements due to business closure, retrenchment, rightsizing,
redundancy, technological advances, and other analogous causes. For this purpose, the TUPAD
Program being implemented by the DOLE providing emergency employment for displaced or
disadvantaged workers is hereby institutionalized.

SEC. 6. Lead Agency and Convergence with Related Government Assistance Program. -
The DOLE shall be the lead agency in the implementation of the TUPAD Program and shall
proactively administer directly, motu proprio, wage employment projects, in coordination or
collaboration with relevant government agencies, in the event of massive displacement of workers
resulting in serious disruption of means of livelihood,

The DOLE shall be responsible in the administration, sourcing, assessment and approval of
all project proposals for appropriate funding using TUPAD funds. It shall integrate and collaborate
with other government agencies, business and labor groups, and civil society groups in
implementing similar or related programs and services for efficient and effective whole-of-nation
approach in the delivery of social safety nets,

SEC. 7. Eligible Projects for TUPAD; No Counterpart Funding Requirement. - All
employment projects, to be eligible for funding under TUPAD, shall be under any of the listed
eligible projects below. The DOLE shall set the period of work of approved employment project
depending on the nature and duration of the work to be performed, but in no case shall the project
duration be less than ten (10) days, nor to exceed ninety (90) days, as provided herein:

Eligible Projects Maximum No.
of Work Days
(@) Light works, such as street sweeping and cleaning 15
of public facilities.
(b) Social community projects such as de-clogging of 5

canals, debris cleaning/segregation and materials
recovery, stockpiling and clearing at the aftermath of
calamity or disaster.

(©) Social community projects such as minor repair oO
and maintenance of common public facilities such as
schools and health centers

(@ Government projects requiring improvement of 90
government facilities and infrastructures such as
health centers, irrigation canals, roads, evacuation
centers school buildings, and the like.

(©) Economic community projects such _as 90
maintenance and/or rehabilitation of farm-to-market
roads, bridges, post-harvest facilities, public markets,
and common public facilities such as production and
display centers fish ports, ete.

(D Agro-Forestry and eco-agriculture farming which 90
include tree-planting, seedling preparation, re-
forestation and crop growing.

(g) Field works, such as conduct of survey and 90
| profiling, in partnership with other government offices



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No counterpart funding shall be required in the implementation of the project from the Local
Government Units (LGUs) or any of DOLE’S accredited program partners However, they shall
provide technical assistance, which could be in the form of identification of projects; profiling of
beneficiaries, procurement, monitoring, and facilitating access of services from other agencies.

Tupad Projects involving 46-90 days period of work shall be implemented in partnership
and/or complementation with agencies implementing public projects such as the Department of
Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR), LGUs, as well as the private sector to engage in public projects. Said offices/program
partners shall provide the required materials, tools, and equipment including office equipment, as
warranted by the nature of work.

SEC. 8. Qualified Beneficiaries. - All displaced workers and/or vulnerable workers are
qualified beneficiaries under this Act; Provided, that the Secretary of Labor, may, in proper
instances, also approve programs under the TUPAD Program that will include the underemployed,
such as sub-professionals involved in structured work in support of office operations ot those
engaged in arts crafts manual and clerical work, as beneficiaries under this Act.

The Secretary of DOLE shall set standards on the TUPAD beneficiaries, including the
allowable number of beneficiaries per household, and the number of projects under the Program a
qualified beneficiary may participate in, and such other relevant matters for the effective
implementation of this Act, with a view to helping the most number of beneficiaries.

SEC. 9. Modes of Implementation of the TUPAD Program. - The TUPAD Program shall
be implemented by the DOLE Regional Offices through any of the following modes:

a) Accredited Co-Partner (ACP). Under this mode, the ACP shall be the
Department's partner or conduit in the implementation of the program, provided they
are registered with any registering body of the government and accredited by DOLE
as ACP under the TUPAD Program. The following shall qualify as ACP:

i. Peoples’ organization:

ii, Private sector unions, federations or workers’ associations, as defined
in Book V of the Omnibus Rules and Regulations Implementing the
Labor Code of the Philippines;

iii, Cooperatives;

iv. Church-based organizations:

Private educational institutions;

Private foundations; and

Government agencies and instrumentalities, including National

Government Agencies, Local Government Units and Government

‘Owned and Controlled Corporations;

b) Direct Administration. Under this, the administration and implementation of the
TUPAD Program shall be undertaken directly by the Department’s regional
provincial and/or field offices.

SEC. 10. Accreditation of Co-Partners (ACP). - DOLE shall accredit the copartners in the
implementation of the TUPAD Program, and for this purpose shall set the guidelines for the
accreditation process.

Government agencies, including LGUs and state university and colleges (SUCs), shall
automatically be TUPAD program partners, without need of accreditation, upon execution of a
TUPAD Partnership Memorandum of Agreement clearly outlining the responsibilities and
deliverables of each party under the program,


SEC. 11. Employment Project Implementation Requirements. — All programs under the
TUPAD Program shall observe the following

a) Strict compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Standards provided under
Republic Act No. 11058 and other related laws and regulations;

b) Provision of necessary equipment for beneficiaries needed to effectively and safely
participate in a project under the Program;

©) Enrollment of every beneficiary to a group micro-insurance to be included in the total
project cost;

4) Issuance of an identification card or document for every beneficiary participating in a
project under the Program;

©) Assistance to beneficiaries who have participated in the Program of skills training or
upgrading towards self-employment or wage employment. For this purpose, the DOLE
and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) shall ensure the
implementation and enforcement of this provision;

f) Mechanisms to ensure that the DOLE and/or its accredited co-partners monitor the
implementation of every employment project under the TUPAD Program; and

g) Submission of proper documentary requirements for the release and liquidation of funds
for every employment project under the TUPAD Program subject to relevant accounting
and auditing rules and regulations,

SEC. 12. Wages and Compensation of Beneficiaries; Prohibited Practices. - The wages
and compensation of the beneficiaries shall not be less than 100% of the prevailing private sector
minimum wage rate set by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) for
non-agricultural workers in the area or locality where the project will be implemented.

Any violation of this provision shall result in the blacklisting of the accredited co-partner,
including the payment of the amount involved, with legal interest, without criminal cases. If the
accredited co-partner is an LGU or SUC, the LGU or SUC shall immediately address such
deficiency and/or error without prejudice to applicable rules and regulations of the Commission on
Audit and the filing civil, criminal or administration actions. In case of direct administration, the
responsible DOLE personnel shall be subjected to administrative investigation without prejudice to
the filing of appropriate civil or criminal case.

SEC. 13. Project Funding. - Approved employment project proposals shall be funded under
the TUPAD Program fund under the budget of the DOLE.

The DOLE shall be primarily responsible for managing the funds for the implementation of
the Program.

SEC. 14. Authority to Receive and Administer Donations for TUPAD Program. - The
DOLE is hereby authorized under this Act to receive donations from government and non-
government organizations and to administer the same strictly and exclusively for the beneficiaries
and qualified applicants of the TUPAD Program, subject to relevant accounting and auditing rules
and regulations,

SEC. 15. Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation of the TUPAD Program. - The DOLE
shall establish a standardized monitoring and reporting system to properly document every
approved project under the Program.

It shall also submit to Congress and make available to the public, an annual accomplishment
report and utilization of the funds earmarked for the implementation of the TUPAD Program. The
annual report shall include the pertinent details of every project under the Program, the mode of
implementation, number of beneficiaries, donations from private and other organizations,
expenditures, number of beneficiaries who acquired employment after their participation in the
Program, and other pertinent information as may be necessary. An impact evaluation shall be
conducted from time to time, but not later than every three years.


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Article IIT
Miscellaneous Provisions

SEC. 16. Appropriations. - The funds for the initial implementation of this Act shall be
sourced from the current budget of the DOLE for the implementation of the TUPAD Program.
Thereafter, the amount necessary for its continued implementation shall be included in the annual
General Appropriations Act; provided, that such appropriation shall take into consideration an
administration fee of not more than 5%.

SEC. 17. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety (90) days from the
effectivity of this Act, DOLE shall, in consultation with TESDA, Department of Trade and
Industry, and other relevant government agencies and stakeholders, issue the necessary rules and
regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 18. Separability Clause. - Any portion or provision of this Act that is declared
unconstitutional or invalid shall not have the effect of nullifying other portions or provisions hereof
as long as such remaining portions can still subsist and be given effect in their entirety.

SEC. 19. Repealing Clause. - All laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, other issuances or
parts thereof, which are inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Nothing in this Act shall result in the diminution of the benefits and/or assistance given to overseas
Filipinos and migrant workers as provided in other laws, ordinances, rules, regulations and
issuances.

SEC. 20. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the
Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,