COA finds irregularities in TUPAD payouts in 2025

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MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Audit (COA) has found that thousands of Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) beneficiaries in 2025 either received cash assistance despite submitting incomplete documents or got excess cash assistance.

State auditors said 2,731 beneficiaries were still paid even though they failed to comply with the eligibility documents set under Section 8 of Department Order No. 239, Series of 2023, including submission of valid government-issued ID cards.

Auditors also said 2,781 senior citizens received TUPAD funds even though the medical certificates they submitted did not come from a licensed physician.

The questionable payouts cost the DOLE P18.18 million which, COA said, should have gone to legitimate beneficiaries.

It said: “In the absence of such documentation, the audit team could not sufficiently determine whether the beneficiaries were indeed medically fit to perform the assigned work or whether the contracted services were actually rendered.” 

The concerned DOLE regional offices, in response to COA’s audit findings, agreed to strictly enforce beneficiary validation and verification procedures to ensure that only those who fully meet eligibility requirements are granted assistance.

Auditors also found 1,275 individuals in the Zamboanga Peninsula region were paid more than the amount they were meant to receive under the TUPAD program. 

“Audit of disbursements of TUPAD showed that there were excessive payments to 1,275 beneficiaries totaling P6,463,150 due to lapses in the maintenance of the database,” the COA said.

In Soccskargen, in particular, 330 persons collected TUPAD assistance twice, 57 were paid three times, and 132 got the cash assistance four times, according to COA.

The multiple collection was attributed to “inadvertent” inclusion of certain beneficiaries to the TUPAD Program which was traced to submission of different lists or inconsistencies in the identification details.

State auditors recommended that the COA regional offices implement measures to recover the excess payments. – Rappler.com