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The right to social security of the workers in the informal economy/ sector
1. Balik Negosyo (up to 10,000 Php) - for micro-small-medium enterprises that
wish to make their businesses compliant to the COVID-19 health regulations
for the safety and health of their employees and their clients.
2. Bagong Negosyo (up to 10,000 Php) - for displaced employees due to the
closure of their companies who wish to have small businesses in their homes.
3. Balik Trabaho (up to 5,000 Php) - for displaced employees who wants to apply
for a new job and needs financial resources to complete their application
requirements.
The program can be accessed through pasig.accessleap.com which also shows their
medium-sized loan program for MSMEs partnering with UnionBank.117 According to Atty.
Santiago, as of this date, the program has 6,688 batch loanees.118 They are very strict about the
vetting process as they have very minor requirements for the loan. Proper documentation of the
signed loan agreements is observed and onboarding is done in Pasig with the disbursement
done through a partnership with Paymaya. They aim to release at least 500 loanees a month
with a target of around 20,000 by the end of the year which they say is feasible due to the
disbursement agreement.
Although the TUPAD program has been discussed by DOLE, Atty. Santiago detailed
how the Pasig City LGU has been very participative with their TUPAD program centering on
urban gardening and clean and green activities.119 They have also allotted a local budget besides
the budget coming from the national government, which they also use for their TAPAT
programs, particularly for urban gardening which is a result of a memorandum of agreement
(MOA) signed between the LGU and the Depart of Agriculture (DA). The city has helped
around 6,750 successfully hired beneficiaries of TUPAD.
As assistance to displaced tricycle drivers, they also initiated their Tricycle Operations
Support. They took care of the franchise fees including supervisory fees of drivers via a city
ordinance. They also gave financial assistance to displaced drivers amounting to PhP 4,000 via
a Sangguniang Panlungsod Resolution. PandaTODA, similar to what was institutionalized in
the city of Manila, was also initiated in Pasig through a memorandum of agreement (MOA)
with FoodPanda. Displaced drivers were given training by FoodPanda and were utilized for
Id.
Id.
119 Id.
117
118