LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. unveiled seven flagship innovations under the government’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program on Wednesday, October 14, aimed at expanding job opportunities, bridging skills gaps, and promoting sustainable livelihoods.
Speaking at the 26th National Public Employment Service Office (PESO) Congress, Marcos emphasized that the newly introduced initiatives are designed to turn temporary employment schemes into long-term pathways for career development.
“For millions of Filipinos, employment is the means to provide for families, to put skills and education to good use, and to create a more secure future for ourselves,” Marcos said.
“Our duty as a government is to ensure that they have the opportunities to pursue these goals,” he added.
Among the key highlights are Trabahong-Dagat, which blends emergency work with training and certification from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority for fishing communities; SkillPass, which maps out a clear career pathway linking work history with formal certification; and Sagip-Trabaho, a mechanism providing temporary wage subsidies and worker protections for distressed employees in micro, small, and medium enterprises.
To immediately put these efforts into action, a parallel local and overseas job fair rolled out at Island Central Mactan, featuring over 1,300 openings, including vital maritime sector positions.
Marcos pointed out that persistent roadblocks such as localized job information deficits and skills mismatch continue to feed underemployment across the country.
To counter this, he noted that various state agencies—including the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Education, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Commission on Higher Education, and TESDA—have been tasked to sync their frameworks closely with actual labor market demands.
The Chief Executive also highlighted recent administration employment milestones, noting that over 14 million individuals have benefited from TUPAD since the beginning of his term up to August 2026.
Furthermore, he reported that 65,534 jobseekers were hired on the spot via thousands of job fairs held from January to August, alongside tens of thousands of beneficiaries under youth and student short-term employment programs.
“These figures represent Filipinos gaining work experience, finding employment, and receiving assistance when they need it the most,” Marcos said.
In addition to job creation updates, Marcos announced that newly approved wage adjustments took effect on Wednesday in Central Visayas, granting an extra ₱42 to daily minimum wage earners in the private sector and a ₱500 monthly raise for kasambahays.
Closing out the program, the administration honored five outstanding Public Employment Service Offices with Hall of Fame awards for winning the National Search for Best PESO three years in a row: the provincial office of Antique, along with the municipal and city offices of Biñan, Talavera, Jimenez, and Laguindingan.
Cabinet officials and local chief executives, including Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino and Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Ma. Cynthia Chan, attended the event.