DOLE programs
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has exempted nine programs of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) from the spending ban due to the forthcoming polls.
Under the Omnibus Election Code, public officials and employees are prohibited from disbursing or spending public funds for social services 45 days before election day.
The nation goes to the polls anew on May 12 for the 2025 national and local elections.
Under Comelec Resolution No. 11060, exempted from the spending ban are nine DOLE projects worth nearly P20 billion.
One of the exempted DOLE projects is the highly-successful P14.1-billion “Tulong Panghanap-buhay sa Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD).”
The DOLE projects benefit the beleaguered Filipino people, notably the jobless and the underemployed, not only in the metropolis but throughout the country.
Described by various quarters as “pro-poor,” the Comelec exemption is seen to go a long way in helping millions of people.
They paid a glowing tribute to the Comelec, chaired by lawyer George Erwin Garcia, for exempting the projects from the spending ban.
“Marami ang magugutom kung matitigil ang mga programang ito,” according to an elderly barangay official in vote-rich Pangasinan.
