DOLE boosts conciliation-mediation program in Western Visayas

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Aligned with the government’s commitment to provide accessible, efficient, fair and immediate relief for labor concerns, the Department of Labor and Employment Regional Office 6 conducted basic training on conciliation-mediation for 19 newly hired and promoted employees on April 21–22, 2026, in Iloilo City.

The regionwide training aimed to equip participants with mediation skills for handling labor-related concerns as Single Entry Assistance Desk Officers, or SEADOs, and SEADO alternates.

The new batch of SEADOs will strengthen the region’s pool of mediator-conciliators to help ensure prompt, impartial and inexpensive resolutions to labor issues and prevent disputes from escalating into formal litigation in their respective field offices.

Regional Director Sixto T. Rodriguez Jr. emphasized the importance of equipping employees as SEnA implementers to help maintain industrial peace and strengthen labor-management relations.

“Through continuous capability-building initiatives, we ensure that our SEADOs are well-equipped to deliver prompt, fair, and effective mediation and conciliation services. This reflects our firm commitment to protect the rights of workers while supporting employers in fostering harmony in the workplaces,” said Atty. Rodriguez.

The training featured discussions by DOLE experts and partner agencies on the SEnA program, general labor standards, and the labor inspection system in relation to SEnA implementation.

Sessions also covered sector-specific concerns involving kasambahays, security guards, construction workers, platform economy workers and other special groups, along with illegal dismissal, jurisdictional issues, cases involving overseas Filipino workers and the role of the National Labor Relations Commission.

To further strengthen participants’ technical knowledge and competencies, representatives from the National Conciliation and Mediation Board facilitated specialized sessions on conciliation-mediation techniques, including the traits and skills needed by conciliator-mediators and the proper drafting of minutes, settlement agreements and quitclaims.

Participants also received an orientation on the DOLE Assistance for Request Management System, or DOLE ARMS, including its external features and internal functions for focal persons and interviewers or SEADOs, to support efficient case handling and documentation.

SEnA, or the Single Entry Approach, is DOLE’s administrative mechanism for the speedy, impartial, inexpensive and accessible settlement of labor issues through a 30-day mandatory conciliation-mediation process.

DOLE Regional Office 6 serves Western Visayas, which includes Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental.

Through the initiative, DOLE Regional Office 6 continues to strengthen dispute resolution mechanisms and empower its workforce to deliver responsive and client-centered public service.

By investing in the development of SEADOs, the department is reinforcing compliance with labor standards, promoting industrial harmony and supporting a more stable and productive labor environment in Western Visayas.

Brief explanation: I tightened repetition, standardized titles and acronyms, changed “newly-hired” to “newly hired,” corrected “uphold compliance to” to “reinforcing compliance with,” and smoothed several sentences for AP-style clarity while preserving the original quote and core structure.