Almost 6,000 GIP beneficiaries in Bohol to get full payment this month

Hundreds of beneficiaries of the Government Internship Program attend an orientation for the project at the Bohol Cultural Center in Tagbilaran City in September. | File Photo: via ArtCom

Almost 6,000 intern-beneficiaries of the P280-million Government Internship Program (GIP) in Bohol will be getting their final payment for their work in 2019 before the end of the month, a Department of Labor and Employment official (DOLE) said after a delay in the release of their latest bi-monthly salary.

“Ang atong mga beneficiaires nato diha sa Bohol dili sila mabalaka na ang ilang gitrabahuan until end of December, mabayran g’yud nato sila. Atong paningkamutan na ma release g’yud na on or before January 15,” said DOLE 7 acting regional director Atty. Roy Buenafe.

Buenafe appealed for public understanding on the issue.

According to Buenafe, they have yet to release the payments for December 16 to 31 due to the high volume of interns and lack of manpower from the DOLE to process the allocation of the fund for the wages.

There are over 5,000 GIP beneficiaries in Bohol. The figure is reportedly the most number of participants for a single province in the entire country.

“Close to 6,000 atong beneficiaries so imagine, ang pagproseso palang sa DTR ana ug ubang mga papeles perte jung daghana unja pila ra man inatwn atong personnel diha sa Bohol,” he said.

Buenafe also noted that they were also waiting for the DTRs (daily time record) of the interns before they started to process the wages.

“Ma pakong ta sa COA (Commission on Audit) na ‘nganong manweldo man mo na wa man moy DTR, unsa may gibasehan ninjo sa pagkwenta sa inadlaw,’ so wa tay basehan,” he said.

So far, P55 million have been made available to the beneficiaries through M. Lhullier branches across the province for easier access for the recipients.

The amount however is still far from the entirety of the payments due to the beneficiaries who had their internship from October to December earning the minimum wage of P338 per day during the three-month period.

The GIP was launched by the DOLE to encourage more individuals to pursue a career in government service. Filipino youths aged 18 to 30 years old may join the GIP to gain work experience.

According to Buenafe, the national government allocated P280 million for the GIP in Bohol but so far only P188 million have been used in the project’s implementation.

The amount is a continuing fund which may be used for the GIP’s continued implementation in 2020. (A. Doydora)