Palace: Government to expand job programs for urban poor

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September 7, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Marcos administration has strengthened collaboration among government agencies to expand employment opportunities for urban poor communities.

Cabinet Secretary Benhur Abalos recently convened officials of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE-National Capital Region to improve the referral of community and worker concerns to appropriate government programs.

President Marcos has issued Executive Order 123 transferring the supervision over the PCUP and National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) to the Office of the President (OP).

The PCUP and DOLE discussed available employment, livelihood, training, internship and youth-employment interventions for affected workers and urban poor communities in Metro Manila, Rizal and Davao.

Under the coordinated approach, the PCUP will support community linkage and profiling.

The DOLE will assess referrals and determine the appropriate programs, while the Office of the Cabinet Secretary will help coordinate and monitor inter-agency follow-through.

The initiative supports the President’s directive to strengthen coordination across government and bring public services closer to Filipinos, Abalos said.

There were around 2.59 million jobless Filipinos in June, up from 2.50 million in May and 1.95 million in June 2025, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

In issuing EO 123, Marcos said placing the PCUP and NAPC under the OP’s administrative supervision would strengthen policy coordination, ensure greater convergence of poverty reduction and urban development initiatives as well as facilitate the efficient implementation of programs requiring a whole-of-government approach.

EO 123 repealed EO 67 issued in 2018, which transferred the supervision over PCUP and NAPC to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.