President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed on Sunday that he would continue to prioritize the protection of Filipino workers as he led the advanced celebration of Labor Day.

“You can expect that the government will not neglect the employment and working sector, especially under my leadership. As the President, I promise that the protection of Filipino workers will remain the top priority under my administration. That’s why I am ordering the related agencies, especially DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment), to focus on providing livelihood programs and programs to enhance the knowledge and skills of our workers,” Marcos said.

Marcos made his speech a few hours before he left for the United States to meet US President Joe Biden on May 1.

Marcos assured the workers, whom he called the “pillars of the economy", that the government is implementing measures to address the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising prices of prime commodities.

“The government and I are actively monitoring this and are doing what we can to address this. We are carefully and slowly reopening our economy so that the businesses and investors will return and increase, especially for those linked to important infrastructure. We are strengthening our agriculture and our relationship with other countries so that they can help our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers),” he said.

Marcos expressed optimism that more jobs will be generated for Filipinos, especially since the employment rate in February was recorded at 95.2 percent.

He also encouraged the workers to never lose hope and to continue working with diligence and integrity despite the hardships in life.

“We pray that these programs and aspirations on this day and in the days to come will strengthen the working sector and result in a massive change in the economy of our country,” Marcos said.

Marcos headed several activities which were part of the celebration including the launching of 150 booths of the Kadiwa ng Pangulo Para sa Mangagawa, a live job fair bringing 12,000 jobs to the capital, the distribution of aid to beneficiaries, and a house and lot raffle where five attendees won. Jaspearl Tan/DMS