The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is ready to assist local government units (LGUs) outside the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus that require contact tracers.

“Secretary (Silvestre) Bello has an instruction if ever there Is a request from the LGUs, we can tap the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) Program for contact tracing,” lawyer Ma. Karina Trayvilla, director of the DOLE’s Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns, said in a Laging Handa briefing on Thursday.

She said they have yet to receive requests for contact tracers from LGUs outside the NCR Plus area, or Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite.

The agency has so far hired a total of 5,754 contact tracers under TUPAD.

“The hiring of these workers aims to augment the current composition of contact tracers assigned in the LGUs,” Trayvilla added.

On the other hand, she encouraged other informal sector workers to apply for the emergency employment program, where they will be employed from 10 to 30 days.

“For interested applicants, they just need to go to the nearest DOLE office in their area or at the PESO (Public Employment Service Office) in their locality,” Trayvilla added.

The workers’ salary will be based on the prevailing minimum wage in the region where they are hired.

The beneficiaries of the program are those affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. (PNA)