The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) provided P9.9 billion worth of livelihood and emergency employment aid to over 1.7 million individuals nationwide in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Through its Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP), the Labor department provided P9.9 billion in livelihood and emergency employment assistance to 1,721,710 Filipinos before yearend.

Led by DOLE, DILEEP is an initiative that provides economic relief and opportunities to vulnerable individuals and groups, in a bid to improve the lives of Filipino workers.

Per the latest report of the DOLE Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC), 35,467 beneficiaries nationwide have received livelihood grants under the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP), which allowed them to start, boost, or restore their livelihood or small businesses.

The DILP beneficiaries established 19,342 projects, including 444 groups and 18,898 individuals, with grant assistance of P771,602,105.

The projects were mainly related to food (carinderia, frozen goods, Nego-Kart); retail and trade (sari-sari stores, rice retailing, corn trading); and services (carpentry, transport service, tailoring, vulcanizing).

Of the total DILP beneficiaries, 28,736, including 15,036 individual project beneficiaries and 13,700 group project beneficiaries, benefited from the formation component of the program, which paved the way for the establishment of 15,401 new livelihood projects amounting to P628,581,689.

Also under the enhancement component, 6,590 beneficiaries expanded their existing projects with a total grant assistance of P139,276,345.

Likewise, the restoration component of the program rebuilt the livelihood of 141 calamity-hit disadvantaged workers in seven regions with fund assistance of P3,744,071.

DILP beneficiaries during the last quarter of 2024 were mostly self-employed with insufficient income (14,936); marginalized and landless farmers (6,227); parents/guardians of child laborers (4,393); senior citizens (1,778); and fisherfolk (1,324).

Meanwhile, DOLE’s popular emergency employment program—the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD)—also extended short-term employment to 1,686,243 workers under 6,844 projects implemented, providing them with immediate financial relief amounting to P9,129,641,453.

BWSC data also showed that Central Luzon had the bulk of TUPAD beneficiaries (251,917) engaged in community clean-up, coastal clean-up, communal gardening, and soil cultivation.

Calabarzon followed with 192,704 TUPAD beneficiaries employed in clearing and beautifying public roads, canal dredging, and tree-planting projects.

DOLE Bicol came in third based on the number of individuals assisted, with 170,419 TUPAD beneficiaries working on public infrastructure and facilities improvement projects and vegetable gardening.

As part of the government’s push for equitable and inclusive development, 7,723 DILP beneficiaries (21.78 percent) and 353,589 TUPAD workers (20.97 percent) came from fourth to sixth-income class municipalities, where economic opportunities are scarce.

Under the DILEEP, DOLE seeks to continuously reduce poverty and the risk vulnerability of poor, vulnerable, and marginalized workers through emergency employment and the promotion of livelihood and entrepreneurship.