26/05/2026
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐จ๐ฅ ๐ก๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐๐ซ๐ฌ, ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฒ๐ฌ, ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐งโ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ก
๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ฝ๐ถ ๐๐ถ๐๐ โ โ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ก๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ค๐, ๐ฃ๐๐ช๐ฃ๐๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐ฃ. ๐๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฎ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ, ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ค ๐ฃ๐๐ข๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐.โโ
As Labor Month comes to a close, the spotlight turned to the often-overlooked workers of the informal sector, whose contributions continue to sustain communities and local economies. Outstanding informal workers, women-led organizations, and domestic workers were honored during the 2026 Labor Month Culminating Activity held on May 21 at the LCC Event Center in Legazpi City.
The event featured the Kasambahay i-DOLE 2026 Season 2 Singing Competition, recognition of the 10 Outstanding Workers in the Informal Sector (WIS), awarding of Outstanding Women Workersโ Associations, and the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between DOLE Bicol and the LCC Group of Companies on Gender and Development (GAD) initiatives.
DOLE Bicol Regional Director Imelda F. Gatinao emphasized the importance of recognizing workers across all sectors.
โ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฑ๐ข๐จ ๐๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ช๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ๐ช ๐ข๐บ ๐ช๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ด๐ข ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ข ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ด๐ข ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ข ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฃ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฐ. ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ, ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฑ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ฃ๐ถ๐ด๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ค ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ด๐ข ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฅ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ข๐ต ๐ฑ๐ข๐จ-๐ถ๐ฏ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ,โ
โ๐๐ข๐บ๐ข ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐ช๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ช๐จ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฅ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ข๐จ๐จ๐ข๐ธ๐ข, ๐ฌ๐ข๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐จ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฐ, ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ต ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ณ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐จ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ธ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ฆ๐น๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ณ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ฃ๐ถ๐ด๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ข ๐ญ๐ช๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ,โ said RD Gatinao.
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ
A major highlight of the celebration was the second season of the Kasambahay i-DOLE Singing Competition, which showcased the vocal talent and personal stories of ten kasambahay finalists from across the region.
At the end of the competition, Angeline Nuรฑez of Tabaco City, Albay emerged as champion and received P10,000 in cash prize. Salvador O. Nollames of Libmanan, Camarines Sur placed first runner-up, while Carlo E. Cleofe of Tiwi, Albay finished second runner-up. The remaining finalists received P4,000 consolation prizes, recognizing their performances and participation.
๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ต๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ
Ten Outstanding Workers in the Informal Sector (WIS) were also recognized for demonstrating perseverance and excellence in their livelihoods despite economic and occupational challenges.
The honorees represented diverse occupations from across the region, including a padyak driver, plumber, mason, and beautician from Albay; a farmer from Camarines Norte; a tour guide and street food vendor from Camarines Sur; a carpenter from Catanduanes; a street sweeper from Masbate; and a fisherfolk representative from Sorsogon.
Apart from cash incentives, the winners and awardees in the singing competition as well as the Outstanding WIS, shall have the opportunity to be endorsed for the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) and to TESDA to avail a scholarship for a qualification or National Certificate (NC) program.
To further recognize stories of resilience, Best Video Documentary Awards were also conferred on the featured stories of the street sweeper from Masbate, the street food vendor from Camarines Sur, and the freelance beautician, whose documentaries highlighted the struggles and triumphs of workers often overlooked despite their significant role in society.
๐๐ต๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ช๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐
Women-led associations from across the region were likewise recognized for advancing livelihood opportunities, women empowerment, and community development.
Among the awardees are the Samahan ng mga Kababaihan sa Barangay Malaya of Camarines Norte, Magarao Hilot Association of Camarines Sur, Real Womenโs Association of Masbate, and Gabao Womenโs Rural Workers Association of Sorsogon.
The organizations are honored for their continued contribution to economic productivity and self-reliance through livelihood, entrepreneurship, and community-based initiatives while encouraging womenโs active participation in local governance.
The Gabao Womenโs Rural Workers Association also received the Best Video Documentary Award, with its presentation recognized for effectively showcasing women empowerment, community participation, and sustainable livelihood initiatives.
๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ-๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ
The culminating activity also marked a milestone for DOLE Bicol with the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the LCC Group of Companies aimed at advancing Gender and Development (GAD) initiatives and promoting gender-responsive workplace practices.
The agreement, signed by RD Gatinao and LCC Group representative and Officer-in-Charge Chairman for Human Resource Devy M. Laad, outlines collaborative efforts to implement gender-responsive workplace programs.
Under the agreement, DOLE Bicol committed to provide technical assistance, including Gender Sensitivity Trainings (GST), GAD orientation seminars, workplace gender-responsiveness training, and Training of Trainers (TOT) on GAD. Meanwhile, the LCC Group committed to engaging DOLE Bicol in implementing GAD-related activities, facilitating employee participation, designating focal persons for coordination, and integrating gender-responsive principles into workplace policies and organizational systems.
The agreement represents the first partnership on Gender and Development forged by the regional office with a private institution, expanding its GAD initiatives beyond the public sector.
As the labor month concludes, the culminating activity served as an avenue to celebrate meaningful contributions of the workers in the society. Whether in homes, streets, farms, markets, or communities, the workers and organizations proved that behind ordinary work are also stories. As RD Gatinao said, โTalent, strength, and greatness are never measured by position or status in life.โ [END] CMS/JVEG
