Senator Raffy Tulfo issued a stern warning on Thursday to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to remove its corrupt field inspectors or risk losing its 2026 budget.

During the Senate Committee on Labor hearing, Tulfo warned Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma that he will move to block the agency's 2026 budget if it fails to improve performance and remove erring field inspectors who neglect their duties.

The senator revealed that many manufacturing companies in Camanava and Metro Manila, which he personally inspected, have been underpaying their workers—some receiving as little as P280 per day.

"DOLE, wake up! We are raising wages, but the implementation is lacking. It's like we're fooling around here. Be serious about your work," Tulfo said.

"I looked at the companies that should be inspected, but your field inspectors are not inspecting them," he added.

Tulfo also disclosed that some companies that have been inspected by Labor field inspectors just go straight to the human resource office "for a closed-door meeting and do not even talk to the workers."

He asked Laguesma to submit a list of DOLE Camanava and Metro Manila field inspectors, along with the companies they visited and their performance reports, to determine whether they are fulfilling their responsibilities.

Tulfo stressed that inspectors who neglect their duties should be dismissed immediately, "I promise your Sec. Laguesma, I will defer your budget if no field inspectors get fired."

"Workers will not complain if their employers do not exploit them. If the DOLE personnel are really doing their job, then they would have already caught the companies that do not pay wages properly," he said.

"Either they are not doing their job, or they are corrupt. So someone should be fired. If you don't fix that, I will defer your budget."