# Senate Committee on Finance: DOLE - September 30, 2026 — Source-Linked Digest

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z91hEVu_7g

AI-assisted working draft. AI can make errors. Always verify consequential interpretations and wording against the cited transcript and official video.

## At a glance

- **Budget reductions and plenary referral:** The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) faced reductions while senators sought a prioritized funding wish list and better utilization. Presiding Senator Joel Villanueva and Finance Committee Chairperson Senator Joseph Victor “JV” G. Ejercito referred the proposals to plenary, subject to requested documents and the hearing’s discussion.

- **Jobs, training and enforcement:** DOLE Secretary Francis N. Tolentino described pathways from temporary assistance into skills, jobs and livelihood. Senators pressed for lasting employment outcomes, coordination with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and stronger inspection capacity. Officials promised utilization details, program guidelines and staffing information.

- **Wage relief and unresolved litigation:** Senator Christopher Lawrence T. Go questioned wage delays and regional coverage. Tolentino said DOLE continued defending Wage Order 27 while implementing separate relief under Order 28. The additional tranche remained subject to court decisions. Villanueva’s question about a regularly updated household-income benchmark received a process-based answer.

- **Professional regulation and labor justice:** Senator Raffy T. Tulfo challenged the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) over director tenure, examination security and malpractice complaints. PRC Chairperson Charito A. Zamora promised reshuffling; Tolentino committed to fact-finding and a clinic inspection. The unfinished National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) headquarters remained without requested project funding.

Reading note: Follow timestamps to the reviewed transcript and official source video. Amounts retain their stated fiscal year and scope; requests, commitments and referral to plenary are reported with their recorded outcomes.

## Agency budget summary

### FY2027 DOLE proposed program and NEP allocation; FY2026 comparison

FY2027 proposed expenditure program: ₱47.73 billion for the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), including ₱21.197 billion for the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), whose budget was heard separately. DOLE Secretary Francis N. Tolentino separately presented a ₱26.162 billion DOLE National Expenditure Program (NEP) allocation. The hearing did not reconcile that allocation’s scope with the TESDA-inclusive total.

The FY2026 program was stated as ₱61.81 billion; the proposed program’s decline was ₱14.08 billion, or 22.8%. This prior-year comparison is separate from the agency’s original submission to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), for which no department-wide total was stated. Program-level requests appear below. Separate operating-budget NEP/request pairs for PRC and NLRC were not presented; NLRC’s building request concerns a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) project.

[00:22:42 · asr-000167](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000167) · [00:22:45 · asr-000168](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000168) · [00:22:56 · asr-000174](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000174) · [00:22:58 · asr-000175](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000175) · [00:38:59 · asr-000652](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000652) · [00:39:01 · asr-000653](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000653) · [01:04:48 · asr-001371](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001371) · [00:22:46 · asr-000169](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000169) · [00:22:48 · asr-000170](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000170)

## Department of Labor and Employment budget

### Employment facilitation and worker protection

Presiding Senator Joel Villanueva contrasted ₱1.23 billion for the proposed employment-facilitation program with ₱16 billion for the workers’ protection and welfare program. He argued that workers should be able to move from temporary assistance into permanent employment and sustainable livelihoods, and said minimum wage is a floor distinct from a living wage sufficient for a dignified life.

[00:24:18 · asr-000215](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000215) · [00:24:22 · asr-000216](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000216) · [00:24:24 · asr-000217](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000217)

### Field inspections and body-worn cameras

Senator Raffy T. Tulfo expressed full support for the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) budget and said he would support additional funding if the Department needed it for field-inspection personnel. He said inspectors lacked staff to check factories and companies for labor-code and minimum-wage compliance. He urged body-worn cameras for all field inspectors, saying visits should document whether workers were interviewed and work areas examined; he alleged that some inspectors instead met with company HR and left with envelopes. Tulfo said documentation would help ensure inspectors did their work properly. He offered support for the cameras if DOLE requested funding; no amount or appropriation outcome was stated.

[00:26:08 · asr-000269](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000269) · [00:26:54 · asr-000292](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000292) · [00:27:04 · asr-000297](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000297)

### DOLE budget reduction, fiscal constraints, and priority requests

Senate Committee on Finance Chairperson Joseph Victor “JV” G. Ejercito said constrained fiscal space meant increases would require cuts elsewhere. He asked which DOLE programs were affected and what amendments the House had made. Secretary Tolentino said the department had no copy of the House version yet, although he understood the House had met.

Ejercito contrasted the tighter current budget with the previous year, when he said ₱250 billion from zeroed flood-control projects had been available for redistribution. He asked for a ranked wish list separating essential programs from items that could wait, promised to prioritize labor and acknowledged the unfinished NLRC building. His support did not specify an additional allocation.

[02:06:51 · asr-002969](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002969) · [02:07:37 · asr-002983](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002983) · [02:08:04 · asr-002990](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002990) · [02:09:20 · asr-003017](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003017)

### Program requests and funding reductions

For FY2027, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Undersecretary Warren M. Miclat told presiding Senator Joel Villanueva that the TUPAD temporary-employment program would fall from ₱21 billion in 2026 to ₱11 billion in 2027. He said DOLE proposed ₱1 billion for the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) and received ₱848 million; proposed ₱195 million for JobStart and received ₱153 million; and proposed ₱124 million for Public Employment Service and received ₱98 million. DOLE Secretary Francis N. Tolentino separately said DOLE wanted ₱25 million for a Labor Attorney’s Office to provide legal help for workers unable to afford a lawyer, and ₱75 million for the National Academy for Labor Justice to train arbiters, commissioners, med-arbiters and conciliators.

Villanueva asked about a reported ₱18 billion unobligated balance. Miclat reported ₱17 billion unobligated for the Office of the Secretary as of September and 90% disbursement of obligations. He said much of the centrally recorded balance had been downloaded to regional offices and was usually obligated by year-end. Tolentino clarified that OSEC referred to central-office funds downloaded to regions. Villanueva requested a catch-up plan and monthly obligation and disbursement targets for the committee; the department agreed to submit these to support floor deliberations.

[02:11:05 · asr-003058](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003058) · [02:11:31 · asr-003068](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003068) · [02:11:33 · asr-003069](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003069) · [02:12:39 · asr-003103](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003103) · [02:12:41 · asr-003105](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003105) · [02:12:46 · asr-003107](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003107) · [02:12:48 · asr-003108](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003108) · [02:13:03 · asr-003116](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003116) · [02:13:07 · asr-003117](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003117) · [02:12:04 · asr-003083](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003083) · [02:12:18 · asr-003090](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003090) · [02:13:36 · asr-003127](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003127) · [02:14:22 · asr-003148](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003148) · [02:15:08 · asr-003180](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003180) · [02:13:54 · asr-003136](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003136)

### Sagip Trabaho support and requested guidelines

Secretary Tolentino described Sagip Trabaho as a new TUPAD option to help small and medium enterprises absorb a ₱60-per-day Metro Manila wage increase while preserving jobs. At the stated ₱755 daily TUPAD amount, he said one worker’s amount could cover the ₱60 increment for 12 workers. In an illustration he described ₱56,160 support, calling it monthly while also referring to three months. He estimated nearly ₱16 million for 300 small Metro Manila establishments, calling it part of TUPAD’s budget. Villanueva requested the detailed guidelines and mechanics; Tolentino promised to provide them. The monthly versus three-month basis remained unclear pending the detailed mechanics.

[02:35:22 · asr-004302](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004302) · [02:35:49 · asr-004315](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004315) · [02:36:36 · asr-004338](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004338) · [02:36:51 · asr-004346](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004346) · [02:37:12 · asr-004357](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004357) · [02:37:27 · asr-004366](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004366) · [02:38:01 · asr-004385](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004385)

### Inspection funding and retained penalties

For FY2027, Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC) Director Alvin B. Curada said the bureau would have wanted a larger maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) allocation but understood government resource constraints. He said around ₱50 million in administrative penalties collected under the Occupational Safety and Health Law since 2018 had been deposited with the Bureau of the Treasury and could not be used without a General Appropriations Act (GAA) provision. Villanueva asked whether those collections could support a funding case; the exchange ended with the funding request still unresolved.

[02:45:40 · asr-004684](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004684) · [02:46:10 · asr-004688](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004688) · [02:46:35 · asr-004692](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004692)

### TUPAD allotments and utilization

Senator Christopher Lawrence T. Go asked about TUPAD utilization and outstanding local government unit (LGU) requests. DOLE Undersecretary Warren M. Miclat said the 2025 GAA budget was ₱17 billion; because funds could be moved to the Government Internship Program (GIP) or DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP), the adjusted allotment was ₱16 billion, of which ₱15.5 billion was obligated (reported as 98%) and ₱14.8 billion of that was paid (95%). Go requested a detailed 2025 breakdown and 2026 update before plenary; Miclat agreed to submit it. Miclat said all 2025 funds held for later release had been released, with spending continuing in 2026; he also confirmed that no 2026 funds remained for later release.

For 2026, Miclat described ₱21 billion for TUPAD, comprising ₱11 billion in the comprehensive allocation and ₱10 billion for later release. The latter Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) was released in late June and funds were being downloaded to regional offices. Go cited DOLE-wide June 2026 figures of a 31.7% obligation rate and ₱21.6 billion unobligated or unutilized. Miclat explained the late TUPAD release; Go clarified that his question concerned the whole DOLE budget. As of September 15, Miclat reported DOLE-wide obligations of 45% and disbursement of 90% of obligations; he expected utilization to rise toward year-end, usually above 90%. Go renewed the request for regional amount and pending-request details; the committee sought the updates before plenary.

[02:57:41 · asr-004988](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004988) · [02:57:43 · asr-004989](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004989) · [02:58:04 · asr-004999](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004999) · [02:58:08 · asr-005001](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005001) · [02:58:19 · asr-005007](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005007) · [02:59:40 · asr-005038](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005038) · [02:59:50 · asr-005043](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005043) · [03:00:23 · asr-005056](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005056) · [03:00:54 · asr-005070](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005070) · [03:00:59 · asr-005073](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005073) · [03:00:59 · asr-005074](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005074) · [03:02:19 · asr-005135](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005135) · [03:04:08 · asr-005228](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005228) · [03:04:11 · asr-005231](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005231) · [03:02:28 · asr-005144](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005144)

## National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) budget

### National Labor Relations Commission building funding and delay

The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) building was described as a ₱3.4 billion project. Responding to Senator Raffy T. Tulfo, NLRC Chairperson Grace E. Maniquiz-Tan said it was implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and had reached only three floors against a 17-floor plan after five years. She said the DPWH submitted a ₱600 million request for the following year, but that amount did not appear in the NEP; the project had also been removed from DPWH’s next-year budget, and the NLRC had received no project budget for the previous two years. 

Tulfo asked whether the blockage lay with DBM or DPWH. Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Director IV Benjieleth M. Zuñiga said DPWH was handled by another bureau, so she could not explain why the project was removed. Tulfo called for coordination with DPWH and completion of the building. The request concerned the DPWH building project, rather than NLRC’s operating appropriation; no restoration was agreed in this exchange.

[01:35:39 · asr-002599](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002599) · [01:35:46 · asr-002602](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002602) · [01:36:29 · asr-002618](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002618) · [01:37:22 · asr-002634](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002634)

### NLRC staffing, logistics and unfinished building

Senator Raffy T. Tulfo supported additional staffing and logistical resources for the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), saying it could not perform effectively without them. He raised its unfinished headquarters project and called for accountability from the implementing and funding agencies; the project-cost and funding response is covered in the preceding building account.

[00:28:00 · asr-000325](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000325) · [00:28:08 · asr-000329](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000329) · [00:28:23 · asr-000337](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000337)

## Employees’ Compensation Program budget

### Employees' compensation claims

The presentation said 249,143 Employees' Compensation claims amounting to ₱1.82 billion were processed in 2025. As of June 2026, it reported 124,985 claims amounting to ₱935.71 million processed, describing continued efforts to raise awareness and help workers access benefits.

[00:49:10 · asr-000954](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000954) · [00:49:12 · asr-000955](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000955) · [00:49:19 · asr-000959](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000959)

## Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) budget

### Conditional proposal to defer the PRC budget

Senator Raffy T. Tulfo said he would defer the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) budget unless Chairperson Charito A. Zamora reshuffled the regional directors. Zamora promised to do so, and Tulfo thanked her. This was a conditional threat followed by a reshuffling commitment.

[01:34:26 · asr-002562](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002562) · [01:34:58 · asr-002578](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002578)

## DOLE presentation

### Employment priorities and labor-market conditions

Tolentino described a shift from temporary assistance toward routes into skills, livelihood, enterprise and continuing employment, alongside monthly job fairs, stronger job matching through public employment service offices (PESOs), and closer employer partnerships. DOLE Planning Service Director Patrick P. Patriwirawan Jr.’s presentation set eight priorities spanning employment generation and sustainable livelihoods, decent work and workers' rights, labor justice, social protection, social dialogue, digital transformation and a stronger, accountable Department. 

Its labor-market snapshot showed the labor force growing while participation declined; unemployment and underemployment rose, employment growth lagged labor-force growth, and the number and rate of young people not in employment, education or training increased. Wage-and-salary employment grew, but the presentation characterized job quality, hours and income adequacy as continuing concerns.

[00:35:41 · asr-000553](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000553) · [00:40:45 · asr-000704](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000704) · [00:43:11 · asr-000776](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000776)

### Reported accomplishments and 2027 targets

As of August 2026, the presentation reported 893,510 technical-vocational training enrollees, 780,127 graduates and 875,166 certified individuals; it also reported 173,841 licensure examination passers and more than 1.3 million continuing professional development participants. 

Youth programs had assisted 167,596 people, with a 2027 target above 220,000. More than 1,600 job fairs had generated over 65,000 hires on the spot; public employment services reported a 92% placement rate, and labor-market information had reached over 3.9 million people, with a 2027 reach target near 5 million. 

Labor inspection had reached more than 176,000 establishments and nearly 2.3 million workers, with a 2027 target of 190,000 establishments; reported compliance was 90% for general labor standards and 83% for occupational safety and health. 

DOLE reported seven wage orders issued in the National Capital Region (NCR), Regions 5, 9 and 11, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). It reported over 827,000 TUPAD emergency-employment beneficiaries and more than 36,000 livelihood-assistance recipients as of August 2026; proposed 2027 targets were 672,776 TUPAD and 43,748 livelihood beneficiaries. The presentation also reported monitoring more than 63,000 child laborers and a 2027 target of 78,120.

[00:45:17 · asr-000840](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000840) · [00:45:57 · asr-000859](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000859) · [00:46:13 · asr-000867](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000867) · [00:47:29 · asr-000906](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000906) · [00:48:10 · asr-000925](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000925) · [00:48:37 · asr-000938](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000938) · [00:49:31 · asr-000965](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000965)

### TUPAD as a route to longer-term opportunity

The planning presentation described an enhanced TUPAD framework that keeps temporary employment as an immediate safety net while linking workers, according to their profiles and eligibility, to skills and certification, employment, livelihood or education, with monitoring of post-program transitions. Department Order No. 239-E, Series of 2026, was presented as adding work-to-skills, work-to-enterprise and work-to-employment pathways to the earlier framework. The four featured innovations were SkillPass, Sagip Trabaho, Tulong-Aral and Trabahong Dagat.

[00:49:46 · asr-000972](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000972) · [00:50:09 · asr-000984](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-000984)

### SkillPass credential and referrals

SkillPass was presented as a proposed credential connecting authorized TUPAD work or Government Internship Program (GIP) experience with competency development and, where applicable, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority training, assessment and certification. DOLE would profile beneficiaries and validate work records; TESDA would validate training and certification. Under the proposed pilot standard, the QR-verifiable progress report card should be issued within 15 days of completion or exit when validated records are available. DOLE would then refer beneficiaries to PESOs and employers, livelihood or enterprise assistance, or further TESDA training. The proposed measure of success extends beyond people served to those who move to a better economic opportunity.

[00:53:23 · asr-001081](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001081) · [00:54:41 · asr-001120](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001120) · [00:54:51 · asr-001125](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001125)

### Sagip Trabaho job preservation

Sagip Trabaho was described as time-bound job-preservation assistance for qualified distressed micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) facing temporary shocks that could cause worker displacement or business closure. Employers must apply with a job-preservation and business-continuity plan; DOLE would validate the enterprise, worker eligibility, employer compliance and counterpart, and prospects for recovery before deciding whether assistance could prevent displacement or closure. Temporary wage support may cover up to 35 qualified workers per employer for up to 90 days. 

A tripartite undertaking would specify covered workers, activities, support, monitoring and retention commitments. The intervention does not replace employers' statutory obligations. DOLE said it would monitor actual work, labor-standard compliance and recovery, assessing whether jobs were preserved and workers remained employed after assistance ended.

[00:55:33 · asr-001146](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001146) · [00:57:27 · asr-001203](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001203) · [00:58:36 · asr-001238](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001238)

### Tulong-Aral foundational learning

Tulong-Aral would engage qualified education graduates, licensure passers and academic mentors to provide supervised small-group reading, writing and mathematics support for Grades 1–3. Mentors would complete a 10-day capacity-building course and child-protection screening; the Department of Education (DepEd) would determine learning needs, select learners, oversee content and validate baseline and exit assessments, while DOLE would determine TUPAD eligibility. 

Parental consent, DepEd-approved materials and a maximum ratio of one mentor to five learners were specified. DOLE and DepEd would monitor delivery. The presentation said the intervention should produce learning support for children as well as temporary work for mentors, and that DOLE and partners would refer mentors to further training, employment, internships or livelihood opportunities.

[00:59:06 · asr-001253](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001253) · [01:00:12 · asr-001283](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001283) · [01:00:45 · asr-001291](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001291)

### Trabahong Dagat coastal livelihood pathways

Trabahong Dagat was presented for coastal communities, fisherfolk, households and coastal youth affected by closed fishing seasons or other livelihood disruptions. Temporary TUPAD-supported work could be paired with skills training, certification, starter equipment, enterprise assistance, market links or employment facilitation; proposed pilot areas were the Zamboanga Peninsula and Zambales. Its three tracks cover maritime skills and services, fisheries skills and production, and blue-enterprise development. Beneficiaries would be matched to pathways based on local opportunity, skills and economic potential, with DOLE coordinating area and fisheries profiling with the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), TESDA and local governments.

[01:01:47 · asr-001306](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001306) · [01:02:12 · asr-001313](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001313) · [01:03:13 · asr-001326](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001326)

## Senator Raffy T. Tulfo

### Regional director tenure and reshuffling

Senator Raffy T. Tulfo opened by asking Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Francis N. Tolentino why Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) regional directors remained in place for decades. Tolentino said DOLE’s relationship with the PRC was limited to policymaking and that the secretary lacked authority to reshuffle its directors; PRC Chairperson Charito A. Zamora confirmed that long-serving directors had remained since she took office in 2022. Zamora said the commission assessed them as performing and that changes had occurred through retirements, resignations, or acting appointments. Tulfo argued that performance did not justify lifetime tenure and urged rotation among the 16 regional offices.

[01:05:23 · asr-001386](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001386) · [01:05:43 · asr-001401](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001401) · [01:07:31 · asr-001456](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001456) · [01:11:16 · asr-001622](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001622)

### Exam-question security and director qualifications

Tulfo questioned who formulates licensure-exam questions and whether regional directors could access them. Zamora said professional regulatory boards formulate the questions, with board members appointed by the President; she said regional directors are not part of question formulation, though Tulfo pressed that they could gain access during examinations. He alleged that leakage was common and that some directors received retainer fees from review centers, while expressly saying he had no proof for some allegations and was not accusing Zamora personally. 

Zamora also said the assistant commissioner was appointed by the commission in 2023 and that PRC had one such post, responding to Tulfo’s appointment questions.

He also challenged the removal of Career Executive Service (CES) eligibility requirements for PRC key positions. Zamora said the change came from Career Executive Service Board Resolution No. 1420, which classified the positions as outside CES coverage. Tolentino agreed that PRC officials could write to the Civil Service Commission and the CES Board to seek standards like those used for other agencies; no change to the eligibility rule was recorded.

Presiding Senator Joel Villanueva recalled his own repeated floor interventions about leaked board-examination questions, including teachers’ and engineering examinations. He cited questionnaires sold in Morayta and testimonials about materials published by former professional-teacher board members, saying the committee would alert PRC if it found such material and that the longstanding concern required attention.

[01:12:34 · asr-001681](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001681) · [01:12:41 · asr-001684](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001684) · [01:17:42 · asr-001916](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001916) · [01:18:51 · asr-001965](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-001965) · [01:38:07 · asr-002656](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002656) · [01:38:33 · asr-002661](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002661)

### Medical-board malpractice complaints and investigation commitments

Tulfo cited complaints about a plastic surgeon, alleged that multiple procedures had been performed together, and said two patients had died, including a case he dated to 2017 and a later case involving Christina. These were Tulfo’s allegations; he pressed the PRC to act on the complaints and sought an immediate stop to further practice. Zamora replied that professional cases begin at the boards’ quasi-judicial level and that the earlier complaint remained with the Board of Medicine, not the PRC proper. 

She said the earlier case had been filed in 2021 and promised to direct the board to investigate; she also said the commission needed information from Tulfo’s staff. Tulfo demanded a cease-and-desist order by the following month and at minimum asked that the doctor be stopped from conducting surgery, and asked officials to stop further surgery. 

Tolentino committed to form a team the next day, convene the PRC and Medical Board for fact-finding, and agreed that license removal should be considered. He also promised an immediate clinic inspection and a report to the committee; if the clinic violated Article 128 of the Labor Code, DOLE would close it. The hearing ended with investigation and inspection commitments, while the requested stop-practice action remained pending.

[01:20:38 · asr-002030](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002030) · [01:26:23 · asr-002305](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002305) · [01:29:37 · asr-002416](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002416) · [01:32:18 · asr-002498](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002498)

## Senator Christopher Lawrence T. Go

### Metro Manila wage relief

Senator Christopher Lawrence T. Go commended the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board for the National Capital Region’s Wage Order 28, which he said raised the daily minimum wage by ₱60 and would benefit more than 1.1 million minimum-wage earners. He asked DOLE to monitor compliance and avoid another delay, urged attention to workers outside Metro Manila, and cited his Senate bill proposing a further ₱100 daily increase nationwide. He also asked about the ₱85 daily increase under Wage Order 27, which he said was under a temporary restraining order.

DOLE Secretary Francis N. Tolentino said the Wage Order 27 dispute was pending in five cases and that its outcome and timing were unknown. He said Wage Order 28, effective September 26, 2026, began from the previous Wage Order 26 rate of ₱695; adding ₱60 made the rate ₱755. Tolentino said the new order was legally issued while Order 27 remained before the courts, and that the ₱60 daily increase amounted to ₱1,560 over 26 days. He said the increase should also be reflected in pay slips and used for 13th-month pay, Christmas-bonus, holiday, night-shift differential, and overtime calculations. He reiterated that the government would follow the courts’ eventual ruling on Order 27.

Go urged large businesses that could afford it to share their gains with low-paid workers and said each additional peso mattered to workers living day to day. He called for continued attention to wage concerns and thanked the labor officials.

[01:41:41 · asr-002702](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002702) · [01:43:35 · asr-002719](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002719) · [01:44:21 · asr-002722](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002722) · [01:45:00 · asr-002729](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002729) · [01:46:27 · asr-002744](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002744) · [01:47:16 · asr-002753](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002753) · [01:47:20 · asr-002754](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002754) · [01:48:32 · asr-002773](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002773)

### Regional wage increases and timing

Go asked which regions had wage increases outside Metro Manila. Tolentino cited a ₱42 daily increase effective October 14 in Central Visayas and the still-covered Negros Oriental and Siquijor areas while the Negros Island Region wage board was incomplete, with a ₱1,092 monthly increase; he said it would reach 385,000 minimum-wage earners. He identified a pending Calabarzon increase but gave no amount because it had not yet been published or confirmed by the National Wages and Productivity Commission. Tolentino said Davao Region’s second tranche had already taken effect and explained that regional wage actions follow differing anniversary dates and consultation schedules. Go accepted that regional boards set rates based on local prices and cost of living and urged continued attention to workers.

[01:48:59 · asr-002779](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002779) · [01:49:04 · asr-002780](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002780) · [01:49:13 · asr-002781](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002781) · [01:50:05 · asr-002789](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002789) · [01:50:28 · asr-002795](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002795)

### Rural employment and expanded TUPAD pathways

Senator Christopher Lawrence T. Go described Senate Bill 177 to institutionalize rural employment assistance through TUPAD and asked for amounts released by region, approved local government unit (LGU) requests still pending, and wait times. Secretary Francis N. Tolentino described new TUPAD packages: Trabahong Dagat for coastal communities; Sagip Trabaho for small and medium industries facing regional wage increases; Tulong Aral for Grade 1–3 pupils; an LGU Match Fund for material recovery facilities; Skill Pass credentials with TESDA; Kahanap connecting senior high students with small and medium industries; and Tropa Negosyo Trabaho, under which five youth might form a salon. Tolentino said the department would explain the packages further. Go’s requested regional breakdown was not provided in this exchange.

[02:50:39 · asr-004777](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004777) · [02:55:10 · asr-004911](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004911) · [02:55:28 · asr-004920](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004920) · [02:53:40 · asr-004866](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004866)

### Health-worker staffing, compensation and protections

Go argued compensation and benefits push Filipino nurses and other health workers abroad, asking whether DOLE coordinated with the Department of Health (DOH) and facilities on competitive pay and private-sector wages and allowances. He cited about 21 health workers per 10,000 people versus a World Health Organization recommendation of 44.5. Secretary Tolentino referred to a pending measure developed with the Philippine Nurses Association and said he would check its status; he also cited TESDA health and allied training, including NC II and NC III courses. DOLE Undersecretary Carmela I. Torres said DOLE coordinated with the DOH health plan and had an agreement placing nursing non-board passers through the GIP for experience and support to understaffed government hospitals.

Go described Senate Bill 1352, proposing fair working hours, decent wages and benefits, and monthly hazard pay with timely compensation for dangerous work. He asked DOLE to support it when heard in the Senate. The pay-and-allowance enforcement question drew replies about training and internship coordination, with no specific competitive-pay measure agreed.

[03:08:53 · asr-005448](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005448) · [03:09:24 · asr-005479](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005479) · [03:10:30 · asr-005528](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005528) · [03:11:22 · asr-005567](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005567)

## Senator Joel Villanueva

### Order 27 litigation, the January tranche, and Order 28’s effect

Senate Committee on Labor Chairperson Joel Villanueva interrupted to put the Senate’s resolution calling for implementation of NCR Wage Order 27 on record. He said the Senate had passed a separate ₱100 wage-increase measure through third reading, but it did not reach the bicameral conference committee. He challenged the Pasig RTC’s temporary restraining order under Labor Code Article 126 and said a preliminary injunction followed despite a reported ₱10 billion bond condition. He asked whether Order 27’s additional ₱25 second tranche, scheduled for January 2027, would remain payable on top of Order 28’s ₱60 increase, or whether Order 28 had superseded Order 27.

Tolentino said DOLE and the Office of the Solicitor General continued defending Order 27 and would follow the decisions of the Pasig and Navotas trial courts, the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. He described continued litigation and a contempt show-cause direction after the government’s reconsideration motion. He said Order 28 was separate and independent wage relief, did not decide rights or consequences under Order 27, and did not extinguish the pending case; if a court ordered the ₱25 tranche paid the following year, DOLE would comply. He explained that Order 28 took effect from the previously operative Order 26 because Order 27 had not been implemented. No court outcome resolving the ₱25 tranche or its cumulative relationship to the ₱60 rate was reported.

[01:51:59 · asr-002818](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002818) · [01:52:31 · asr-002823](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002823) · [01:53:28 · asr-002834](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002834) · [01:54:16 · asr-002842](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002842) · [01:54:46 · asr-002848](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002848) · [01:55:30 · asr-002855](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002855) · [02:02:40 · asr-002922](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002922)

### Compliance, regional benchmarks, and basic household needs

Villanueva asked how DOLE would ensure full and uniform compliance with Order 28 beyond enforcing the statutory minimum, and whether the department maintained an updated regional benchmark for income needed to meet basic household needs that could be compared transparently with minimum wages during wage-board deliberations. Tolentino replied that wage boards used a thorough process of consultations and that the National Wages and Productivity Council had a 5–1 vote. His answer described the process and vote but did not directly confirm whether DOLE maintains the proposed household-needs benchmark or how it is compared with prevailing wages.

[02:04:27 · asr-002940](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002940) · [02:05:15 · asr-002946](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-002946)

### Employment pressures and regional skills planning

Villanueva cited unemployment of 6% (3.14 million) and underemployment of 12.9% (6.33 million), asking DOLE Undersecretary Carmela I. Torres what drove the rates and how DOLE would adapt its 2027 approach. Torres identified weaker job demand amid slower economic activity, climate and seasonal shocks to agricultural work, and persistent skills mismatches between vacancies and job seekers.

Villanueva asked how DOLE and TESDA would identify emerging industries and avoid concentrating training in the same occupations. Torres said DOLE revised the Philippine Labor and Employment Plan after nationwide consultations, identified key employment generators by region and worked with TESDA to align regional training regulations with emerging, in-demand and critical occupations. She said regional information had been supplied to the committee.

Villanueva asked for measurable outcomes showing underemployed workers moving into adequate hours, better pay or additional work, beyond counting placements. Torres said DOLE could adjust forecasting methods, conducts a nationwide labor-market forecast every two years, and publishes it for TESDA and higher-education institutions; she noted curriculum changes take time. She also said DOLE was improving labor-market information through digital competitiveness measures. No numeric 2027 outcome target was set in the exchange.

[02:15:53 · asr-003210](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003210) · [02:16:19 · asr-003232](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003232) · [02:17:46 · asr-003317](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003317) · [02:19:46 · asr-003441](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003441) · [02:23:02 · asr-003683](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003683) · [02:23:37 · asr-003770](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-003770)

### Enterprise-based training, near-hires and digital job matching

Villanueva asked whether DOLE and TESDA jointly tracked trainees’ employment, retention, wages and labor-standards compliance six and twelve months after enterprise-based training. Citing material submitted to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), he said 9% of technical-vocational education and training enrollees participated in enterprise-based training, while 85.48% of graduates had an employment outcome. He urged DOLE and TESDA to work together so training produces actual employment and decent work.

Torres had explained that DOLE shared job-fair near-hire data with TESDA to identify missing skills and consider short courses or micro-credentials. She also described work with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to integrate AI and new technology into courses. Torres said DOLE and DICT were developing GovApp e-Trabaho, an AI-assisted matching system requiring job seekers and employers to register. It had a partial Labor Day launch in General Santos City, but technical details remained under development; she hoped to accelerate launch and said the project would require resources.

Villanueva criticized the proliferation of government skills passports, registries and overlapping programs across DOLE, TESDA, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), and said a technical working group would be conducted with the department invited. He specifically questioned overlapping units, including the Optical Media Board and Commission on Filipinos Overseas.

[02:28:20 · asr-004139](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004139) · [02:30:00 · asr-004221](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004221) · [02:31:22 · asr-004234](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004234) · [02:26:44 · asr-004049](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004049)

### DOLE vacancies and job-order staffing

Villanueva raised staffing gaps across DOLE and attached agencies. He cited 5,844 authorized positions, 1,282 vacancies (22%), and 3,120 job-order and contract-of-service workers. Miclat supplied a different department-wide count: 11,068 authorized positions, 9,576 filled and 1,492 unfilled (13.48%). He said 7,347 job-order workers were in the department and attached agencies, including 3,992 in attached agencies, 3,243 in regional offices and 112 in central office. Villanueva asked DOLE to explain the job-order workforce and whether some could fill vacancies; Miclat agreed to submit information. The different staffing totals were not reconciled.

[02:39:34 · asr-004429](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004429) · [02:40:12 · asr-004448](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004448) · [02:41:25 · asr-004494](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004494) · [02:41:45 · asr-004510](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004510)

### Inspector capacity and risk-based enforcement

Villanueva asked whether DOLE’s 1,210 labor inspectors could enforce occupational safety and health standards across high-risk industries. Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC) Director Alvin B. Curada said staffing was inadequate against roughly 1.4 million establishments and estimated 9,735 additional inspectors would be needed to visit every enterprise annually. The labor and employment plan targets visits to all establishments by 2028. Curada described education and compliance assistance for microenterprises and stricter inspections for small, medium and large establishments. He estimated the 1,210 inspectors could cover at most 1,026 establishments per year when doing inspection work only.

Villanueva questioned the 2026 target of 200,000 establishments, split into 30,000 actual inspections and 170,000 technical and advisory visits. Curada said targets used weights reflecting that about 90% of establishments were micro, spread across roughly seven years. He said the remaining 10% would receive inspection coverage, with the target adjusted from 24,000 in 2023 to around 34,000 for 2028. The discussion did not resolve the requested resources.

[02:42:02 · asr-004525](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004525) · [02:42:48 · asr-004567](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004567) · [02:45:16 · asr-004679](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004679) · [02:46:58 · asr-004698](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004698) · [02:47:33 · asr-004704](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-004704)

## Hearing outcome

### Budget referred for plenary consideration, subject to follow-up

Senator Joseph Victor “JV” G. Ejercito said the subcommittee would submit its questions and concerns and asked DOLE to prepare answers for plenary, where the budget would still be considered. He reminded the Department to provide its priority wish list, noting that fiscal space was tight and the committee would do its best. Ejercito moved that the FY2027 budgets of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and its attached agencies be submitted for plenary consideration, subject to the discussion held that day and submission of the requested documents. Senator Joel Villanueva asked for objections; hearing none, he declared the budgets submitted on those same conditions. The referral remained subject to the requested information and subsequent plenary deliberation.

[03:13:34 · asr-005693](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005693) · [03:14:22 · asr-005731](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005731) · [03:14:35 · asr-005743](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005743) · [03:15:00 · asr-005758](https://tordecilla.github.io/budget-hearings-2026/records/84/#asr-005758)