Thank you, Executive Secretary Luc Bersamin. [Please take your seats.]

Senate President Migz Zubiri; our House Speaker, Speaker Martin Romualdez; the members of the legislature both on the Upper House, in the Senate and in the House of Representatives present here today; the other Cabinet members who are here led today by our DOLE, our DOLE Secretary, Secretary Benny Laguesma; my fellow workers in government, good morning.

So, I am very pleased to stand before you today at this ceremonial signing of the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act— a significant milestone towards the sustainable and inclusive development of our country.

I thank both the Senate and the House of Representatives — led by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez — for the timely passage of this bill, which is amongst the priority legislative measures of this administration.

The law will help us solve the various challenges plaguing our labor sector, such as low quality jobs, skills mismatch, and underemployment, among others.

It likewise addresses the need to update the skills of our workers and promote the use of digital technologies, particularly for our micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises or MSMEs.

Crucially, this act will lay the foundation for the Trabaho Para Sa Bayan Inter-Agency Council, which will craft a master plan for employment generation and recovery.

It will be chaired by the Director-General of the NEDA and co-chaired by the Secretaries of the DTI and of the DOLE, with representatives from other agencies and from various sectors.

All government agencies, including LGUs, are enjoined to cooperate and coordinate with the Council to ensure the effective integration of the Plan into their policies and programs.

I, therefore, direct the Council and all concerned government agencies to fast-track the issuance of the implementing rules and regulations of the law so that our workers and stakeholders can immediately benefit from it.

I likewise enjoin the DOLE and the NEDA to harmonize the Labor and Employment Plan 2023-2028 and the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Plan to ensure that all government efforts and resources will be effectively and efficiently managed.

To our businesses, especially our MSMEs, we will continue to provide support and other incentives such as increased access to financing and capital to promote self-reliance and spur employment generation.

Under this law, we will also incentivize employers, industry stakeholders, and private partners who will facilitate skills development, technology transfer, and knowledge sharing amongst our businesses and our workers.

With this concerted effort, I am confident that we will not only achieve the goals of this law, but we will also realize our vision of Bagong Pilipinas.

Sa ating mga mamamayang Pilipino: Alam po namin na hangad ninyo na magkaroon ng maayos, matatag, at marangal na trabaho.

Sa pagpasa ng batas na ito, binubuksan natin ang isang bagong yugto sa ating bansa kung saan mayroong sapat at de-kalidad na trabaho para sa lahat.

Kaya samahan po ninyo kami sa pagsisiguro sa tagumpay ng batas na ito at sa pagpanday ng isang maunlad at Bagong Pilipinas.

Salamat sa inyong lahat. Mabuhay po kayo. Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat. [applause]

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