LABOR groups want a bigger shift toward decent and secure jobs as the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) moves to cut its 2027 funding for the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (Tupad) program nearly in half.
Tupad funding is proposed at P11.03 billion next year, down P10.25 billion, or 48.16 percent, from the P21.28-billion allocation under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Labor groups Sentro and the Labor Education and Research Network (LEARN) said the reduction should come with a stronger focus on programs that provide workers with lasting employment.
‘Temporary measures cannot substitute for decent work,’ the groups said in a joint statement.
Tupad had served 1.48 million beneficiaries as of August 2026, and Dole is targeting 672,776 beneficiaries for the program in 2027.
The labor agency’s proposed budget for livelihood and emergency employment is also falling, from P27.91 billion in 2026 to P19.31 billion next year, a 30.8-percent reduction.
Dole said its 2027 priorities include transforming employment assistance into ‘sustainable employment, entrepreneurship, and livelihood opportunities through structured graduation pathway.’
Meanwhile, funding for the Government Internship Program (GIP) is set to jump 176.78 percent to P3.21 billion from P1.16 billion.
Funding for the Dole Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) will move lower by 17.18 percent to P2.23 billion from P2.69 billion.
Sentro and LEARN said Tupad should be reviewed and redesigned as ‘genuine public employment’ aligned with the government’s industrial and development policies.
They also called for stronger funding for labor inspection, labor standards enforcement, labor justice, collective bargaining and wage policies.
Dole is increasing funding for some of these areas, with the Labor Laws Compliance System (LLCS) allocation rising 6.58 percent to P876.84 million.
Promotion of rights at work and labor standards will get P53.03 million, up 3.64 percent, while the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) overall allocation rises 9.36 percent to P246.11 million.
However, the Wage Regulatory Program is facing an 11.64-percent cut to P58.12 million.
‘We need a proactive government, and a competent DOLE, whose objective is the creation of decent and secure employment, not temporary measures,’ Sentro and LEARN said in a joint statement.
Dole is seeking P20.95 billion under the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP), 30.11 percent below its P29.98-billion 2026 GAA allocation.
Across Dole and its attached agencies, the proposed budget totals P47.06 billion, 6.03 percent above the 2026 NEP but 23.08 percent below the 2026 GAA.