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Working away from home is a great sacrifice. For Overseas Filipino workers, it means long, lonely days away from the family,

relatives, and friends. It also means living constantly under the shade of a foreign culture and unfamiliar customs, laws, and traditions. These are that inevitable social cost of pursuing a better life.

Aware of this phenomenon, the government, through its strengthened reintegration program for OFWs, provides a perfect opportunity to mitigate the social cost of migration through a small and medium enterprise sufficiently attractive to OFWs to return home.

Such was the experience of Priscillano Gaces of Bangui, Ilocos Norte. A former OFW, Gaces started his overseas venture as a utility worker in Saudi Arabia in 1977. Over a span of eleven years, he was promoted only once, as a third cook, but he persevered and saved his money wisely. Only when he felt he was becoming more sickly that he decided to return to the country.

When he came back, he looked for an opportunity to turn his savings into a productive venture. He thought of swine raising and started a piggery business.

In 2013, he learned that the Department of Labor and Employment was lending money under its P2 Billion National Reintegration Loan Fund, a component of the National Reintegration Program for OFWs being implemented by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Land Bank of the Philippines.

Hoping to expand his piggery, Pricillano applied for a loan under the program and was granted P1 million. He used the loan to construct a sturdy piggery farm. His business flourished. At present, Pricillano earns an annual net income of P500, 000.

“I am very thankful to the DOLE and the OWWA for this program. The loan really helped me to take off in my business,” said Pricillano, now 62.

Heronelia Dofredo of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, has a similar story. A former caregiver in Ontario (she left the Philippines for Canada in 2008), she felt the need to augment the family

Since June 2011P648.44 million in loans to 876 OFW businesses with over 4,800 jobs generated highlights the National Reintegration Program for OFWs

income derived from a small sari-sari store managed by her husband, Noli.

When she decided to work abroad, Heronelia left behind her husband’s care their two children, Rachel and Mark, a tremendous sacrifice that was not lost for Heronelia.

“I chose a difficult alternative to earn and save for my children’s future, that’s why I left,” she said.

Priscilliano Gaces and his piggery

business

Heronella Dofredo, with her husband Noli

and her children Rachel and Mark, proudly

standing in front of their grocery store.

DOLE Good News

� June 2014

The DOLE Good News is published by the Department of Labor and Employment, with editorial office at the Labor Communications Office, 6th Floor, DOLE Building, Intramuros, Manila. The views expressed herein are those of the writers and/or their sources and do not necessarily reflect those of the DOLE’s or the Philippine Government’s.

Readers’ queries, comments, and suggestions are welcome. Mail or fax them in, or call us at telephone numbers 527-3000 loc. 621. Our fax number is 527-3446. You may also visit our website: www.dole.gov.ph; or e-mail us at dole_lco@yahoo.com or laborcommunications@gmail.com.

EditorNICON F. FAMERONAG

Director, LCO

Associate EditorKAREN R. SERRANO

Staff WritersMARK JAIME L. CERDENIA

MA. VERONICA R. ALMAZORACELESTE T. MARING

HAZEL JOY T. GALAMAYREVELITA F. LAXINASTELLA P. BAÑARES

Graphic ArtistGREGORIO I. GALMAN

PhotographerJOMAR S. LAGMAY

ALLAN G. ABANILLA

Circulation ManagerGIRLIE MARLYN E. ARCE

Contributing Regional Writers

DIANA JOYZ ESGUERRA - NCR

PATRICK T. RILLORTA - CAR

ARLY S. VALDEZ - Region 1

REGINALD B. ESTIOCO - Region 2

JEREMIAH M. BORJA - Region 3

FRANZ RAYMOND AQUINO - Region 4A

ANDREA JOY AGUTAYA - Region 4B

RAYMOND P. ESCALANTE - Region 5

AMALIA N. JUDICPA - Region 6

EMMANUEL Y. FERRER - Region 7

FLORENCE D. PANAO - Region 8

GAY IRIS TANGCALAGAN - Region 9

MILDRED E. DABLIO - Region 10

SHERWIN B. MANUAL - Region 11

MICHELLE T. OLOG - Region 12

IRIS C. ASIS - Caraga

DOLEGood NewsThe Labor Communications Office is open to

receiving letters from readers expressing their views and comments, and/or suggestions on articles that appear on the DOLE Good News. Letters should be no more than a hundred words. Your letters will be published in succeeding issues of the DOLE Good News. Send your letters to:

Department of Labor and EmploymentLabor Communications Office6th Flr. DOLE Bldg. Muralla St. Intramuros, Manila

or e-mail us at dole_lco@yahoo.com/laborcommunications@gmail.com

If you believe in Good News,

tell us.

The arrival of 32 more overseas Filipino workers from civil strife-

torn Libya over the weekend has brought the total number of repatriates to 269.

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz bared this based on an update report of the Repatriation Assistance Division of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

“The 32 workers arrived from Libya on board Emirates flight EK 332,” Baldoz said, adding that OWWA personnel at the NAIA attended to the repatriates with DOLE’s welfare and reintegration services.

The OWWA reported that the repatriates were mostly employed by the Tripoli Carpet Factory. The company shouldered the cost of their plane tickets and processed the issuance of their exit visas and other travel documents.

Baldoz expressed relief that the 32 OFWs arrived safely.

“Their loved ones will be most happy to see them back,” she said.

Representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs joined OWWA personnel in welcoming the Libya repatriates at NAIA and in briefing them on the services under the national reintegration program. The OWWA also provided the repatriates meet-and-greet services and facilitated their immigration exit clearances.

OFW repatriates from Libya reach 269 in June

VERSEAS CORNER

It also provided transportation money to those going home to the provinces and free door-to-door transport to those who live in Metro Manila. It brought to the OWWA Halfway Home for free accommodation those who planned to stay a bit longer in Metro Manila.

A total of 269 repatriated OFWs from Libya have returned home following the government’s call for voluntary repatriation when the crisis in that country continued to escalate. According to the OWWA’s Repatriation Assistance Division, those who arrived over the weekend were the eighth batch of Filipino repatriates.

Five of the 269 repatriates were female and only one has been identified as un-documented. Baldoz had urged all the remaining OFWs in Libya to get in touch with the Philippine Embassy and Philippine Overseas Labor Offices in Tripoli and avail themselves of the

voluntary repatriation program of the government, urging them use of the services of the OWWA’s 24/7 Operations Center.

There are at least 13,122 Filipinos in Libya, most of them male skilled workers employed in the construction, oil, medical, and services sectors.

Meanwhile, the labor and employment chief instructed OWWA chief Rebecca Calzado and Director Violeta Munoz of the National Reintegration Center for OFWs to see to it that the repatriates’ prospective plans after coming home from their work abroad so that the

DOLE can focus on the assistance to be given them.

She issued the instruction after some of the repatriates expressed preference to avail of DOLE livelihood assistance, while others opt to be assisted with job referrals for abroad. Still others requested refund of unpaid salaries and placement fees.

“The protection of OFWs is a major mandate of the DOLE. It protects and promotes the rights and welfare of OFWs and their families through the provision of social, economic, and legal programs and services in pursuit of President Aquino III’s economic vision of ‘a government that creates jobs at home, so that working abroad will be a choice rather than a necessity; and when its citizens do choose to become OFWs, their welfare and protection will still be the government’s priority,” Baldoz concluded.

DOLE Good News

�June 2014

A life’s challenge can also be turned into an opportunity through positive outlook, hard work, and

perseverance.This sums up the philosophy of Agnes

Olarte, President of the Irisan Overseas Workers and Families Organization Multi-Purpose Cooperative (IOWFO–MPC).

This also depicts her journey from being a cancer survivor to becoming a successful entrepreneur who had helped overseas Filipino worker-returnees and their families start their own businesses in Baguio City .

Agnes is not an OFW, but her husband is. The Olartes have dreamt of becoming business entrepreneurs. However, when Agnes was diagnosed with colon cancer, stage three, their savings and income from their sari-sari store dwindled--was almost wiped out--due to hospital and medical bills.

The Olartes were able to cope up with their struggle with the support of friends and OFW families in their community. When Agnes was declared cancer free in February 2008, she showed her gratitude for her new lease in life by pledging she would also help other OFWs and their families become entrepreneurs.

“Nangako ako bilang pasasalamat sa Panginoon na nagbigay sa akin ng bagong buhay at maka-survive sa colon cancer na ako at ang aking pamilya ay tutulong sa iba pang OFW at sa kanilang pamilya na makapagsimula rin ng bagong negosyo para magkaroon ng extra income para sa kanilang pangangailangan at sa kanilang pamilya,” said Olarte.

Agnes started IOWFO–MPC in June 2008 with a mixed membership of 30 OFWs, OFW returnees, and their dependents. The cooperative’s first

enterprise was recycling which earned them an average of P1,500 to P4,000 per month, depending on the volume and quality of recyclable materials they were able to retrieve from the dumpsite in Irisan.

In June 2011, the cooperative’s fortune changed when Agnes and the cooperative members decided on expanding their services by setting up a bakery.

“Naisip naming magtayo ng bakery at magkaroon ng dagdag na kita para sa mga miyembro. Naisip namin na makakatulong ito sa komunidad kasi mas masustansya at mas murang mga tinapay ang ititinda namin,” said Agnes.

In July of the same year, the IOWFO-MPC applied for a P100,000 livelihood grant with the DOLE’s Overseas Workers Welfare Administration-Cordillera (OWWA-CAR) under the government’s national reintegration program for OFWs. The loan application was processed by the National Reintegration Center for OFWs, a DOLE attached agency, and approved it in September 2012.

The National Reintegration Program for OFWs provides livelihood assistance to OFW returnees, both those who opt to stay in the country permanently, or those looking for livelihood while waiting for another job opportunity. It also offers assistance to distressed or repatriated OFWs who fell victims to human trafficking, illegal recruitment, or those who face employment- and health-related problems. Upon verification and evaluation of their status and livelihood project proposals, the NRCO provides a P10,000 livelihood assistance to individual beneficiary and P100,000 to OFW groups, association, or cooperative, such as the IOWFO-MPC.

The cooperative used the livelihood grant to put up the bakery. To prepare for the new venture, Agnes and 13 other members, including five out-of-school youth, attended basic training on baking and bread production at the Baguio City School of Arts and Trades. The training lasted for 10 days.

In October 2012, the cooperative bakery formally opened, with the members themselves doing the work of bread sellers. The bakery was a hit after

only a few months.As a result of the successful operation

of the bakery, the cooperative membership also grew, from 30 in 2012 to 75 members in 2013. The members who used to sell the bakery’s bread products became distributors themselves, with twelve of them now operating their own sari-sari stores which sell the bakery’s products.

The cooperative also started to offer membership credit and savings to its members, and expanded its services to help vulnerable workers. Growing steadily, the cooperative’s assets have reached P850,000 and coop members expect these to continue growing in the coming years as the cooperative expands not only in Irisan, but in the adjacent barangays.

“The IOWFO-MPC is very good example of a cooperative which has used its funds wisely. Although it is not obliged to repay the money, it being a grant, the beneficiaries used the DOLE’s livelihood assistance solely for their business following the business plan they themselves drew during the Entrepreneurial Development Training administered by the DOLE Regional Office,” said Baldoz.

The IOWFO-MPC is also helping Bgry. Irisan through various projects. In coordination with government agencies, Agnes and her fellow coop members have been training barangay residents on baking bread and sweets for pasalubong.

It also continues to capacitate its members for self-improvement through training and seminars offered by the DOLE, OWWA, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and Department of Trade and Industry. The cooperative has assisted its members in accessing social protection programs of the Social Security System and Philhealth.

Meet Agnes Olarte, cancer survivor; now entrepreneur

Agnes (left) and a member of their cooperative tend to their NRCO-assisted bakery.

� June 2014

DOLE Good News

“Happy. Fulfilled.”

These were the words of Emma Collado, 22, after she was hired-on-the-spot (HOTS) at the 12

June Independence Day Jobs Fair at the Rizal Park in Manila.

Collado, from Quezon City, is now a service crew at a Dunkin Donuts coffee shop. She said she found the jobs fair c o n v e n i e n t for a first-time jobseeker like herself.

“Hindi mo na kailangang puntahan isa-isa ang mga kumpanyang gusto mong pagtra-bahuhan. Nakakapagod ‘yun. At least dito sa DOLE job fair, tabi-tabi na sila,” she said.

Joining Collado as HOTS is Virgilio Salipande, 21, from Navotas City, who is now a at a service contracting firm. He is to start work on 16 June.

Collado and Salipande were two of the 833 fresh graduates and jobseekers who were hired-on-the-spot (HOTS) from among the large number of professional, technical, trade skilled, and other applicants who flocked to the DOLE-lead 2014 Kalayaan Job Fair last Thursday.

“I congratulate the new hires and hope they will make good in their careers,” Baldoz said after receiving a preliminary update on the HOTS from the DOLE’s Bureau of Local Employment.

BLE Director Dominique R. Tutay had reported to Secretary Baldoz that a total of 16,690 registered jobseekers vied for the 35,528 job vacancies offered by 85 local, 21 overseas, and five government employers that participated in the simulateneous nationwide Kalayaan Job fair in the country’s 16 regions.

Of this number, 4,640 applicants qualified; 59 were referred to the Technical Education and Skills

Development Authority for further skills training; and 17 were referred to DOLE for livelihood assistance.

Tutay also said a total of 11,544 applicants have been interviewed by different employers. Of this number,

she said 8,589 a p p l i c a n t s were asked to return for further interviews.

Baldoz had i n s t r u c t e d the BLE to coordinate with the employer s and monitor those who

were asked to come back for further interviews. She said this will give the BLE a fair idea on why job applicants are hired or why they are not hired during job fairs.

“Do the continuous monitoring of placement until the end of August 2014,” Baldoz said.

“Those who were not hired at the job fair should not be faint-hearted. You should be optimistic and be a little patient because selecting job applicants can be a tough challenge for employers who would only like to get the best workers,” she said.

“So those who failed to get a job at the job fair should spend time to consider their options. Perhaps, they need to attend a short training, or they may have to consider entrepreneurship other than wage employment. At any rate, whatever you decide, the DOLE is here to assist you,” she said.

Baldoz had also directed the BLE to upload on the DOLE website the detailed regional lists of HOTS and

job applicants who were for further interview. “Do this immediately after receiving the complete reports of the DOLE Regional Offices,” she said.

The nationwide Job Fairs across the 16 regions was the DOLE’s yearly major activity as its contribution to the nationwide celebration of Independence Day, in line with its vision of full, decent, and productive employment.

“We made 12 June a special day for our nation’s workforce by bringing jobs closer to more graduates and jobseekers, especially in the regions, thus making their job search easier and inexpensive,” Baldoz said.

“Normally it takes time–several days, or weeks–for a jobseeker to apply and land a job successfully. For a jobseeker to be hired on-the-spot, in just a day or less, and for an employer to get their skilled manpower in the same period, translates to less inconvenience, and therefore, to more productive results,” she added.

The theme of the 2014 Independence Day celebration is ‘Pagsunod sa Yapak

ng mga Dakilang Pilipino Tungo sa Malawakan at Permanenteng

Pagbabago.’Baldoz thanked its supporters and partners for the successful 2014 I n d e p e n d e n c e Day Job Fair, namely, Banco de Oro; Sky Cable;

Absolute Drinking Water; SMART

C o m mu n i c a t i o n s Inc.; McDonalds;

Max’s Restaurant; Jollibee Foods Corporation;

Greenwich; Chowking; San Miguel Corporatin; Petron Corp.; Asiawide Refreshments; Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc.; Philippine Association of Local Service Contractors; Public Employment Service Office; Philcopy; Manila Bulletin; Philippine Daily Inquirer; and Philippine Star.

DOLE reports 833 were HOTS, 4,640 applicants qualified at nationwide Independence Day Job Fair

Update Report on 2014 Kalayaan Job Fair

Collado

Salipande

DOLE Good News

�June 2014

2014 Kalayaan Job Fairs from the Regions

Region 7

CARAGA

Region 6

Region 3

CARRegion 11

Region 1

DOLE Good News

� June 2014

Thara Tanbua-Nabua of Calaanan, Cagayan de Oro City beamed happiness upon receiving the check from DOLE-X OIC Assistant Regional Director, Rodrigo A. Deloso for her sari-sari store with kakanin business. (photo: MED/DOLE-X)

58 OFW returnees receive P580-K in DOLE livelihood grants

ili sayon akong nahiagoman didto pero ako gyud gikaya tungod kay nag to-o ko nga

naa ang DOLE andam motabang. Kini luha sa kalipay ug pinaagi sa kantidad nga inyong gihatag kanako, ako kining palamboon”. (It was never easy but I hurdled everything because I believed that DOLE is ready to help. I cried for joy and I promise to work hard with the amount that you gave).

These are the words of Fritzie Ompoc when she emotionally recounted her two-year experience working away from her family.

The same teary-eyed experience was shared by Thara Tanbua-Nabua of Calaanan, Cagayan de Oro City.

She worked as a household service worker in Riyadh also for two years.

She is very much thankful for the assistance given by DOLE and OWWA in improving her life and that of her family.

“Ako gyud ma-recommend ang tabang ninyo sa DOLE sa uban, labi na sa pagsugod sa among sari-sari store ug kakanin business. (I can really recommend DOLE and OWWA to others, especially with the livelihood assistance on Sari-Sari Store with Filipino native snacks preparation),” Tara said.

Ompoc and Nabua were two of the 58 OFW returnees who benefited from the P580,000 Livelihood Assistance of the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO, of the Department of Labor and Employment).

DOLE Regional Office No. 10 Assistant Regional Director Rodrigo Deloso facilitated the awarding of the

check amounting to P580, 000 in a turnover ceremony last 24 June 2014.

Deloso, in his statement, lauded the returnees with commending statement as the heroes of the modern times.

“You saved your families from poverty and your children were able to avail proper education which is a solid foundation for their future”, he said.

“The NRCO Livelihood Assistance Program is available for OFW returnees who are displaced, distressed and undocumented and their families to help them start their micro-business or expand their existing business and become self–sustaining.” Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said, citing the report of DOLE Regional Office No. 10 Assistant Regional Director Rodrigo Deloso.

Qualified OFW returnees are required to undergo Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) process like the Enterprise Development Training or Social Preparation Orientation before they could avail of the livelihood assistance in accordance with the Department of Labor and Employment Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program.

Baldoz commended the NRCO for lining up different feasible businesses that will enable the target beneficiaries to start quickly a livelihood undertaking, such as bread making; cosmetology services; meat processing; e-loading, among others.

As of June 2014, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in Region 10 (OWWA 10) recorded a total of 33,000 documented OFWs in the region.

“D

In 2013, while still in Canada, Heronelia’s husband informed her of the P2 Billion National Reintegration Loan Fund of the government. Sensing an opportunity, she asked Noli to invest her modest savings into a business. Noli obliged, and on 27 March 2013, upon the OWWA’s recommendation, the Land Bank approved and released her a loan of P800,000 for additional working capital of their sari-sari store.

The Dofredo couple used the money to buy additional inventories. In addition, they used a part of the loan to put up two rolling

stores which go around the neighboring barangays in Narvacan.

Diligence, industry, and patience have led the Dofredo couple to transform their variety store into a large grocery store. From the grocery and the two rolling stores, the couple now earns an average monthly net income of P90,000. Noli, with the help of his two children, manages the business. Heronelia is still in Ontario, Canada, working.

“I am hands-on in managing our daily operation. I have now eleven workers who are employed full-time,” Noli said.

Gaces and Dofredo are two of the 876 OFW beneficiaries whose small business loans have been approved by the Land Bank

of the Philippines under the P2 Billion National Reintegration Loan Fund since President Benigno Aquino III has mandated the set-up of the fund in June 2011. The total amount of loans granted under the program has already reached P648,444,196 (P648.44 million).

The largest number of OFW loan applicants come from Region 3, with P116.2 million in approved loans for 204 enterprises. This is followed by Region 4-A with P97.6 million in approved loans for 178 projects, Region 6 with P72.2 million for 68 businesses, and Region 5 with P57.9 million in approved loans for 64 ventures.

P648.44 million . . .from page 1

Turn to page 7

DOLE Good News

�June 2014

am very lucky to receive a boat. This will change the future of my family.”

Such were the hopeful words of Crisanto “Manoy Ton” Valencia, a fisherman from Brgy. Kulasi, Mercedes, Camarines Norte, when DOLE Regional Office No. 5 Director Nathaniel Lacambra turned over to him a fishing boat last 5 June.

The fishing boat is one of 100 that the DOLE regional office turned over to 99 other subsistence fishermen—like Manoy Ton—from three Mercedes barangays, namely, Catandungon, Mandisok, and Kulasi under the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting Program (GPBP), a component of the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Entrepreneurship Program.

The turn-over of the boats was attended by Mercedes Mayor Alexander Pajarillo. The municipality is a DOLE accredited co-partner (ACP) for the project and Mayor Pajarillo promised that he will personally monitor the project’s progress.

100 subsistence fishermen in Camarines Norte receive P1.8-M high-quality boats from DOLE

“We are thankful to the DOLE for this project, which is a grant, meaning it is free. Be that as it may, let me remind the beneficiaries that if in any way we monitored that the boats are not being taken care of, or is just left lying idle, we can sequester the boat and give it to a more worthy beneficiary,” Mayor Pajarillo said.

“In Mercedes, fishing is the major source of livelihood. And the most important tool for the local residents’ source of income is a fishing boat,” Director Lacambra reported to Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz shortly after the turn-over of the boats at the Mercedes town hall.

The fishing boats, according to DOLE Camarines Norte Provincial Field Officer Jane Rolda cost P14,000 each. A portion of the P1,884,115 also went to the purchase of 20

municipal aggregate “payao” costing P21,500.

The “payao” is a fishing gear. “These are fishing boats of high quality,” Lacambra said. The 100 fishing boats are a fusion of both traditional and modern aero-dynamic design, executed by local craftsmen hired by Morales Fiber Tech owned by Joselito Morales, who said the boats are better and faster since they were made of fiber glass. “You can expect a better fish catch with these new boats,” said Lacambra during the turn-over.

The fishermen-beneficiaries agreed. Manoy Ton said he is eyeing to catch twice as much fish compared before. “This means I will also double my income,” he said. Some of the 100 fishermen have their own old boats, but most of them are either renting boat or working on another fisherman’s boat.

The DOLE Camarines Norte Field Office estimated that a fisherman in Mercedes earns an average of P2,500 a month. With the new fiberglass boat, a beneficiary could earn a monthly income of between P7,000 and P8,000, or three times higher.

According to Lacambra, the first beneficiary of the project was not the fishermen. “It was the boat maker, Morales Fiber Tech, which also created employment,” he said.

He further said the local government unit of Mercedes will also benefit in terms of tax collection and license and permit fees. “Many more will benefit from the project,” he said.

“I

“These small and medium business enterprises assisted through the P2 Billion National Reintegration Loan Fund have generated 4, 008 jobs,” Baldoz explained.

According to Baldoz, the P2 Billion National Reintegration Loan Fund supports OFWs and their families who plan to put up businesses to maximize the gains of overseas employment, mitigate the social cost of migration, and cushion the impact of forced repatriation.

Managed by the Land Bank of the Philippines, the OFW loan program carries an annual interest rate of 7.5 percent in declining balance, with a

flexible payment scheme of a maximum of 5 years and an incentive grace period of two years. A borrower can borrow a minimum of P300,000 and a maximum of P2 million.

“The P2 Billion National Reintegration Loan Fund responds to the 22-point labor and employment agenda of President Benigno S. Aquino III, specifically Item No. 19 which calls on the DOLE to facilitate the re-integration of returning OFWs by favorable terms of investments, tax incentives, access to government financial institutions and other benefits that are offered to foreign investors,” explains Baldoz.

“It further realizes Item No. 15 of the agenda which emphasizes on giving assistance to OFWs in achieving financial

stability through training, investment and savings programs,” she added.

With the government’s National Reintegration Program for OFWs now registering visible gains in terms of lives transformed, Baldoz reiterated her advice to OFWs to take a look at the viable opportunities offered by the program and consider the option of going into business to earn productive income.

“The protection of OFWs is a major mandate of the DOLE. As we intensify welfare and protection measures for OFWs, we continue translate into action President Aquino III’s economic vision of a government that creates jobs at home so that working abroad will be a choice rather than a necessity,” Baldoz emphasized.

P648.44 million . . .from page 6

High-quality fiberglass fishing boats, such as the one shown, were donated through the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Entrepreneurship Program (DILEP) to 100 subsistence fishermen in Camarines Norte.

Geneva—Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz had said the creation of decent work opportunities is key to the attainment of

inclusive growth in the Philippines. Speaking at the World of Work Summit at the Palais des

Nations, Baldoz said efforts of the Aquino government are geared towards putting decent work and productive employment at the front and center of the country’s growth and development strategies.

“We strive to achieve this through our strategic investment in human capital; by improving working conditions through regulatory and developmental incentive-based labor inspection system, expanding access to social protection mechanisms, and promoting social dialogue,” she said.

During the interactive dialogue with Summit participants, Baldoz bared that the Philippines, since 2010, has increased its investment in education and manpower development in keeping with the Constitutional provision on budget priorities.

“This is also very explicit in President Benigno S. Aquino III’s Platform and Policy Pronouncements on Labor and Employment, whose over-arching goal is “to

invest in our country’s top resource, our human resource, to make us more competitive and employable while promoting industrial peace based on social justice”’, Baldoz said.

“In 2010, our budget for education and manpower development was set at P235.2 billion (approx. US$5.4 billion). This year, this had increased to P389.6 billion (US$9 billion), a 65.6 percent increase in a span of four years,” she stated.

In health, Baldoz said the Philippines had likewise invested huge financial resources to ensure universal access to health.

“Our health budget in 2010 was P24.6 billion (US$572 million). In four years, this had increased by 243 percent to grew to P84.2 billion (US$1.95 billion).”

To ensure social protection for the poor and the vulnerable, Baldoz said the government’s

PH’s inclusive growth agenda puts decent work at front and center

conditional cash transfer program, started in 2010 with a budget of P10.93 billion (US$254 million), has grown in the last four years by 473 percent to reach P62.61 billion (US$1.456 billion) in 2014 covering six million households.

Baldoz said that as a result, the Philippines has started to reap the fruits of its strategic investment in human resource development in terms of availability of workers with skills sets that meet industry needs and readily absorbed by the market, thereby addressing the skills and jobs mismatch and long period of job search, as well as sustained economic growth.

Citing UN population projections, she said that by 2015, the Philippines will be hitting the so-called “demographic sweet spot” that will last approximately for 35 years. According to the UN, countries in this condition will experience average annual growth rates of 7.3 percent over the next 10 years.

The World of Work Summit is a special plenary event of the ongoing 103rd International Labor Conference in Geneva. It was held on the theme, Developing with Jobs, and was keynoted by keynoted by Prof. Deepak Nayyar, professor of Economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. ILO Director General Guy Ryder opened and closed the Summit, while BBC journalist Andrew Walker moderated it.

Baldoz was one of the Summit’s six high-level tripartite panelists who included Mexico’s Labor Minister Alfonso Navarret Prida; Tunisia’s Social Affairs Minister Ahmed Ammar Youmbai; Luxembourg’s Labor Minister Nicolas

Schmit; Turkey’s Santa Farma Pharmaceutical chief executive officer Erol Kiresepi; and International Trade Union Confederation Secretary General Sharan Burrow.

In the Summit, Baldoz also highlighted the Philippine government’s efforts at promoting good labor governance. “Our system of labor administration is one that promotes transparency, accountability and participation through a robust and inclusive tripartism and social dialogue”, she said.

WORLD OF WORK SUMMIT. Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz (second from left) sits as one of six panelists at the World of Work Summit, a major event at the 103rd International Labor Conference now ongoing in Geneva, Switzerland. The Summit, held on the theme, “Developing with Jobs”, was keynoted by Prof. Deepak Nayyar, professor of Economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, and moderated by BBC journalist Andrew Walker. Baldoz’s co-panelist at the Summit were Sr. Alfonso Navarrete Prida, Minister of Labor of Mexico; Ahmed Ammar Youmbai, Minister of Labor of Tunisia; Nicolas Schmit, Minister of Labor, Employment and Economy of Luxembourg; Erol Kiresepi, Chief Executive Officer of Santa Farma Pharmaceuticals of Turkey; and Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation.