President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. marked Labor Day with a mix of employment programs, rice distribution, and direct assistance initiatives in General Santos City and Sarangani, highlighting efforts to create jobs while delivering immediate support to communities.
At a jobs fair held at the KCC Convention and Events Center, the President said the administration continues to prioritize employment generation, citing around P2 trillion in investments secured last year expected to generate about 150,000 jobs nationwide.
The Labor Day jobs fair is part of a broader rollout across 94 locations and will run until the end of May. Around 4,000 vacancies were offered in the General Santos leg alone.
Government data showed that since mid-2022, more than 6,600 job fairs have been conducted nationwide, resulting in over 1.5 million hires, including more than 250,000 applicants hired on the spot.
Alongside employment efforts, Marcos also led the distribution of rice assistance and financial aid to local communities. During the “Bawat Bayan Makikinabang” program at the Lagao Gymnasium, more than P33.6 million was released to barangays in General Santos City and Sarangani Province.
The assistance, sourced from the Local Government Support Fund and Socio-Civic Project Fund, provided P200,000 to each barangay. General Santos City received P5.2 million for its 26 barangays, while Sarangani was allocated P28.4 million for 142 barangays.