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of public transportation in the Philippines.

The Department of Labor and e m ployment (DOL e ) on Tuesday finally presented its L e P during the sectoral meeting led by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for approval.

DOL e Secretary Bienvenido e

L aguesma said its L eP is in line with the 2023-2028 Philippine Development Plan and aims to generate more quality employment, ensuring labor rights as well as social protection for workers.

The L e P, he said, will also help in promoting inclusive economic growth and reduce poverty rate to a single digit. h e said the Department of Transportation (DOTr) also has multiple ongoing infrastructure projects.

Among the key employmentgenerating industries identified in the L eP are tourism, agriculture, business process outsourcing (BPO), and the construction sector.

For public works alone, DPW h Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan said they will require over 3 million skilled and unskilled workers “on a year-to-year” basis as they implement 70,000 big and small contracts, which has a total capital outlay budget of more than P800 billion.

“We will be implementing mega projects of the government so all the more that we will need skilled laborers in the force for the public sector infrastructure program,” he said he hopes the additional vacancies will help convince more Filipino workers to remain in the country instead of seeking overseas employment.

Bonoan said in a news briefing in Malacañang on Tuesday.

Last March, the National e c onomic and Development Authority (Neda) Board approved 194 high-impact projects with an estimated worth of P9 trillion.

DPW h is now coordinating with DOL e and the private sector to help fill up the job vacancies with qualified applicants through skills training initiatives.

“Because of the policy of the infrastructure development program is going to include big ticket projects in the next five years, i think all the more our ‘kababayans’ who are planning to work abroad and seek employment there are going to have an opportunity [to work] in the Philippines,” Bonoan said.