At least 2,916 Boholanos have been chosen as beneficiaries of the Government Internship Program (GIP) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Governor Arthur Yap said on Monday.

Yap successfully linked with DOLE to find alternative programs that will give employment to the people amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

He said he just received an update from Hadassah Liezel Pizaña of DOLE-Bohol about the project. The Labor agency has a continuing budget from 2019 in the amount of PHP124 million for the GIP.

The interns, according to the governor, will work for three months, from July 16 to October 15.

They will receive a stipend of PHP404 a day. The pay is based on Cebu’s minimum rate.

Pizaña said it is not a salary but a stipend or allowance for the interns to be assigned to different government offices.

Meanwhile, DOLE also has the Kabuhayan Program which awards livelihood grants, with an allocation of PHP14.4 million, to identified associations as beneficiaries.

The TUPAD (Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers) project also has a PHP17.5-million fund.

This is the same program that benefited many Boholanos during calamities such as the El Niño phenomenon and the 2013 earthquake.

At this time of Covid-19, the TUPAD budget has been obligated to 4,323 beneficiaries, where 1,741 female recipients.

The program is broken into TUPAD BKBK (Barangay Mo, Bahay Ko) which is a post-Covid-19 intervention that has a budget of PHP10.3 million and intended for 2,520 beneficiaries. (PNA)