The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) through the Regional Office 6–Negros Occidental Field Office (DOLE RO 6–NOFO) administered the distribution of Php 4,286,573.25 to 491 workers at the bioethanol plant in Negros Occidental.
The DOLE Western Visayas region reported that under Republic Act 9367 or “The Biofuel Act of 2006,” 80 percent of the tax collected from bioethanol that uses molasses as feedstock will be used to fund the Social Amelioration Workers Program (SAWP). for bioethanol workers.
Gasoline or fuel bioethanol is made from the fermentation process of sugar. It is mainly used as a substitute for petroleum.
Victorias Milling Corporation (VMC), URC La Carlota Distillery, Asian Alcohol, and Kool Company Incorporated released a Financial Benefit Fund (FBF) on December 28, 2022, January 6 and 16, of the current year, as mentioned.
The recently released FBF covers the year 2022. Workers will receive an amount ranging from Php5,000.00 to Php20,000.00, depending on the company’s production.
According to Regional Director Atty Sixto T. Rodriguez, Jr., he instructed the DOLE RO 6-NOFO to conduct a proper and thorough profiling of the beneficiaries before it is distributed to ensure that the recipients of such benefits are qualified under the Department Order 222-21 or the Revised Guidelines on the Implementation of the Social Amelioration and Welfare Program for Workers in the Biofuel Industry.
Aside from FBF, 1,152 workers also benefited from the bioethanol plan of
Php 2,304,000 in financial assistance from DOLE RO 6-NOFO for those affected by Tropical Storm Odette that hit areas in the Visayas and Mindanao on December 16, 2021, where 10 million hectares of crops were damaged by the typhoon and floods that estimated at 20 billion pesos.
To reduce the impact of the calamity, DOLE RO 6 released P2,000 in financial assistance that was distributed to qualified bioethanol workers in the affected areas.
For Negros Occidental, the recipients of aid include the bioethanol plant of Kooll Company Inc., Universal Robina Corporation-La Carlota, San Carlos Bioenergy Corp, and Victorias Milling Corporation. jpm//fmdl/ gmea
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