The financial aid given by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is for all workers hardest hit by the pandemic, including members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) community. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the government has no discrimination in extending assistance to needy workers through DOLE’s key aid programs, including its flagship Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD). Speaking during a payout ceremony in Siniloan, Laguna, Bello said “TUPAD is for all workers, so one will get the financial assistance whether he or she belongs to LGBTQ or not.” TUPAD is the cash-for-work program of the government to help informal workers cope with the adverse effects of the Covid-19 outbreak. Bello went to the locality recently to continue the roll-out of DOLE’s various Covid-19 response programs amid the lingering pandemic that still poses threat to livelihood and employment. “The government is here to help. We are going around the country to provide relief to our needy workers,” he added.