9 DOLE programs exempted from election spending band

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced Monday that it has exempted nine programs of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) from the spending ban for the May 2025 polls.

In a resolution, Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia approved the recommendation of the poll body's Law Department on DOLE’s request to exempt the following programs from Section 261 (v) (2) of the Omnibus Election Code:

• Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) — P828,940,000

• Government Internship Program (GIP) — P807,716,000

• JobStart Philippines Program (JSP) — P155,270,000

• Adjustment Measures Program (AMP) — P218,722,000

• Workers Organization Development Program (WODP) — P35,874,000

• DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Program (DILEEP) — P2,242,967

• Financial Assistance Program to Distressed Migratory Sugarcane Workers (MSWs) — P1,960,000

• Child Labor Prevention and Elimination Program (CLPEP) — P85,262,000

• EnTSUPERneur Program — P100,000,000

Under Comelec's Resolution No. 11060, a certificate of exemption is required to implement activities and programs on social welfare projects and services while the public spending ban is in effect from 28 March to 11 May 2025.

“Upon evaluation, we find the request to have sufficiently complied with the requirements of Rule IV of Resolution No. 11060,” Comelec’s law department said in a memorandum.