Albay: At least 26,179 residents of Albay affected by the Mayon Volcano unrest were provided with emergency employment through the Department of Labor and Employment's (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) program.

According to Philippines News Agency, DOLE-Bicol spokesperson Johana Vi Gasga reported that assistance reached PHP136.8 million in wages for families and individuals affected by Mayon Volcano's unrest from local government units surrounding the volcano.

Gasga noted that the beneficiaries were the individual displaced persons (IDPs) who stayed for more than seven months in different evacuation centers. During their stay, they assisted with evacuation maintenance, rehabilitation, health support, sanitation, landscaping, community vegetable gardening, and aid for those affected by ashfall.

The assistance, as detailed by Gasga, covered 25,096 beneficiaries in ashfall-affected areas of Camalig, Guinobatan, and Ligao City, totaling PHP131.09 million, while 1,083 evacuees from Tabaco City, Malilipot, and Camalig received PHP5.72 million.

She further explained that beneficiaries in ashfall areas were engaged in recovery support activities, such as water protection, canal rehabilitation, farm-to-market pathway improvements, flood mitigation, drainage clearing, and canal bank planting.

Jesusa P. Suarez, a resident of Barangay Masarawag and one of the beneficiaries, expressed gratitude, stating that the temporary employment significantly supported her family amid the effects of the Mayon ashfall. "I am grateful for DOLE's TUPAD program because I was one of the beneficiaries given the opportunity to work in our barangay despite being affected by the Mayon ashfall. This has been a great help to my family," Suarez said.

TUPAD is a community-based package of assistance that provides emergency employment for displaced, underemployed, and seasonal workers for a minimum period of 10 days and a maximum of 30 days, depending on the nature of the work to be performed.