The Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) granted an amount of ₱20,000.00 as a livelihood starter kit for the agrifarming business of Jovy P. Aleta, a resident of Senator Ninoy Aquino, Sultan Kudarat, who became physically disabled due to a work-connected accident.
Aleta was a former mixer truck driver in a construction company in Sultan Kudarat. In 2019, while cleaning a truck parked at the shoulder lane along a national highway in South Cotabato, a passenger van accidentally bumped the rear portion of the mixer truck that subsequently hit him. The incident resulted to the amputation of his left leg.
With the help of ECC, through its social preparation and e-TESDA course facilitation, Aleta accepted that he could no longer go back to formal employment. Since he has a background on agriculture, Aleta did not lose hope and decided to venture into agribusiness.
Aside from the livelihood starter kit of ₱20,000.00, Aleta also received a ₱10,000.00 cash assistance. With the combined amount, he then bought a carabao and other farming essentials like squash, corn seedlings, and fertilizer
As part of the Katulong at Gabay sa Manggagawang may Kapansanan (KaGabay) Program of ECC, Aleta may receive a complementary kit of ₱10,000.00 if he would sustain his business within three months. The ECC will also grant an above-the-knee prosthesis for his amputated left leg.
“Maraming salamat sa ECC na kahit may pandemya ay ramdam ko ang kanilang tulong,” said Aleta.
Executive Director Stella Banawis emphasized that workers who become physically disabled due to work-connected accidents can apply for rehabilitation services from ECC once their EC Permanent Partial or Total Disability is filed and approved by the SSS or GSIS.
The Employees’ Compensation Commission is a government corporation attached to the Department of Labor and Employment for policy formulation and program coordination. The ECC is mandated to provide meaningful and appropriate compensation benefits to workers and their dependents in the event of work-related sickness, injury, disability or death.
