Govt to hire 14,000 contact tracers

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos said on Sunday that the government is set to hire 14,000 contact tracers to be deployed in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Contact tracers will be paid according to the NCR minimum wage rate. The project was estimated to cost P213 million.

Abalos said he managed to convince Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd to increase the number of additional contact tracers to be hired from 5,000 to 14,000.

“I recently talked to Secretary Bello and the initial plan was to hire 5,000 contact tracers but I said, ‘Sir, maybe we could increase that to 14,000,’ and he agreed,” Abalos said in a radio interview.

DoLE aims to begin the hiring process next week.