A total of 1,559 residents from six towns and one city in Agusan del Norte who participated in high-value crop planting received their wages through a simultaneous payout activity on Thursday.

The payments were distributed under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Displaced/Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) program, facilitated by the Department of Labor and Employment and the office of Agusan del Norte Second District Rep. Dale Corvera.

“This payout is a big help to our residents, especially displaced workers affected by the recent calamities. Their contributions, through the services they rendered, will also boost the province’s high-value crops program,” Corvera said in a statement.

More than PHP9 million was disbursed, with each beneficiary receiving PHP5,775 for 15 days of work.

Corvera said the high-value crop production initiative is part of the Plant! Plant! Plant! Project, which is a component of the AGUSAN UP program and a key advocacy of the Agusan del Norte provincial and congressional offices.

The project covers approximately 125,000 hectares of idle and underutilized land identified in each municipality across the province.

In Cabadbaran City, 654 beneficiaries, including those from the municipalities of Remedios T. Romualdez, Magallanes, and Tubay, received their payments. In a separate payout in Santiago town, 337 individuals from Jabonga and Kitcharao were compensated.

Additionally, 568 beneficiaries from Buenavista, Nasipit, and Carmen municipalities also received their TUPAD payments. (PNA)