DOLE 6 jobs fair offers 7,500 openings

The Department of Labor and Employment Regional Office 6 offered more than 7,500 local and overseas job opportunities and livelihood assistance during its Labor Day job fair on May 1, 2026, at Robinsons Mall Iloilo.

The event highlighted the region’s commemoration of the 124th Labor Day celebration and the government’s agenda of providing decent jobs and employment facilitation services.

The job fair offered 3,982 local employment opportunities and 3,518 overseas jobs.

It was anchored on the theme, “Disenteng Trabaho para sa Lahat: Iisang Hangarin, Bagong Pilipinas Sama-samang Mararating.”

DOLE-6 said 160 applicants were hired on the spot out of 2,289 registered job seekers.

Those hired were accepted for positions as food handlers, drivers, encoders, liaison officers, investment specialists, sales associates, housekeeping workers, and employees in business process outsourcing, retail, and health services.

DOLE also employed graduates who want to enter government service through the Government Internship Program.

The Philippine Army also opened opportunities for applicants who aspire to become officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

DOLE-6 Regional Director Sixto T. Rodriguez Jr. directed field offices to assist 144 near-hires who still need to undergo further interviews and submit additional preemployment requirements.

The job fair also featured the payout for 12,833 informal workers under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers program.

The TUPAD program is DOLE’s emergency employment program for displaced, underemployed, and seasonal workers.

DOLE-6 released PHP 77,453,190 for wages, personal protective equipment, and group personal accident insurance for TUPAD beneficiaries in different municipalities across Western Visayas.

The program covered various local government units and barangays across the region to ensure timely and accessible assistance for qualified beneficiaries.

DOLE-6 also extended livelihood assistance to cooperatives, community associations, and vulnerable sectors across the region.

In Aklan, 148 beneficiaries received PHP 4,440,642 for a rice retailing and sari-sari store project.

In Antique, DOLE-6 provided PHP 2,100,000 for various livelihood projects in San Remigio, benefiting 70 beneficiaries.

The agency also allocated PHP 600,000 for parents of child laborers in Barangay Magdalena, Anini-y, benefiting 20 individuals.

Thirty-seven members of a multipurpose cooperative in Anini-y also received PHP 1,000,000 in livelihood assistance.

Several community-based and cooperative projects were also supported in Capiz, with assistance ranging from PHP 500,000 to PHP 2,000,000 granted to various associations for agribusiness, farm machinery, and small enterprise development.

The livelihood assistance for Capiz totaled PHP 6,500,000.

In Guimaras, DOLE-6 extended PHP 1,509,730 in livelihood assistance to a community in Barangay Bugnay, Jordan, benefiting 38 beneficiaries through the provision of livelihood inputs.

Union- and cooperative-based enterprise development projects also received support.

DOLE provided PHP 1,000,000 in assistance to the Pepsi-Cola Employees Multipurpose Cooperative to enhance its canteen and rice retailing operations, benefiting 23 beneficiaries.

The Kadiwa ng Pangulo initiative also provided PHP 1,500,000 in project inputs for the Kadiwa ng Pangulo Retail Store of the Central Philippine University Rank-and-File Labor Union–Federation of Free Workers.

The Kadiwa project benefited 191 beneficiaries.

Across the region, hundreds of local producers, micro and small entrepreneurs, workers’ groups, and cooperatives benefited from the Labor Day Kadiwa ng Pangulo centers.

The activity provided opportunities for local sellers, while the wages of about 200 informal workers who served in the Kadiwa centers were covered under the TUPAD program.

In a message, Rodriguez emphasized the significance of the initiatives and said the assistance underscored DOLE’s continuing commitment to uplift the lives of Filipino workers.

“This Labor Day, we go beyond celebration. We translate recognition into concrete support. Through our livelihood programs, we empower workers not only to recover but to thrive, ensuring that opportunities reach even the most vulnerable sectors,” Atty. Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez also acknowledged partner agencies that provided services through the help desk during the job fair.

Workers and their families received free medical consultations, online registration assistance, and information on their respective concerns.

This year’s job fair also focused on DOLE’s collaboration with the Department of Migrant Workers to assist displaced or repatriated overseas Filipino workers.

DOLE-6 said it continues to work closely with local partners to provide practical and accessible livelihood opportunities to workers across Western Visayas.

The agency said it will sustain its efforts and pursue responsive and inclusive solutions to expand employment opportunities and extend support to vulnerable and marginalized workers.