Labor

Rep. Antonio Tinio says DOLE's ballooning Tupad emergency-jobs fund — potentially climbing to ₱24.5 billion in 2027 — is turning the labor department into an "aid-distributing agency" at the expense of its core worker-protection mandate.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that 2.41 million Filipinos were jobless in April 2026 — a 4.7% unemployment rate and the highest for any April since 2022 — while underemployment rose to 15.2%, its highest since July 2023, with the national statistician attributing the deterioration partly to the Middle East war's effect on fuel prices and retail trade.

As School Year 2026-2027 opened on June 8, teacher groups marched near Malacañang to press a long-standing demand for a ₱15,000 across-the-board salary increase and to protest chronic shortages of classrooms and personnel — while DepEd pointed to a ₱10,000 teaching allowance under Republic Act 11997 that the groups say falls short of an actual raise.

Workers' organizations intensify push for wage adjustments as the cost of living continues to surge, highlighting the gap between earnings and household expenses.

The Department of Labor and Employment rolls out a revised system for determining minimum wage increases across all regions.