At least four posts on Facebook (FB) are claiming that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is offering cash assistance through its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) Program. This is a scam.
The posts published a graphic that encourages students to apply for cash assistance online. It bore the following text:
“ATTENTION! All Students Advice (sic) To Apply Online To Receive P8,000.00 Yearly Educational Cash Assistance From TUPAD Under DOLE Project Program. APPLY ONLINE NOW!”
Published last May 7 but which continue to circulate this week, the posts provide several non-government website links where potential applicants can supposedly register and fill out a form that asks for personal information.
This is a scam to gather people’s private data. The DOLE disowned the circulating posts and warned the public against entertaining such schemes.
In a May 7 FB post, DOLE said the TUPAD Program is not a cash or scholarship grant assistance and clarified it is a public employment program that will provide temporary jobs to disadvantaged workers aged 18 and above.
“DOLE has no such advertisement. Secondly, TUPAD is not a scholarship program. It is a temporary employment assistance,” Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said in Filipino in a May 8 press conference.
According to the DOLE website, displaced, underemployed and seasonal workers are qualified to apply under the program. Beneficiaries will be granted emergency employment for up to 30 days, depending on the nature of the work.
The scam posts continued to gain traction as DOLE announced that almost 700,000 workers in the informal economy have benefited from its emergency employment program.
FB page Filipino Gazette (created on April 9, 2024) and FB group DSWD NEWS AND UPDATE (Sept. 5, 2023) published the erroneous graphic, collectively garnering over 1,260 reactions, 1,300 comments and 4,260 shares.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
