DOLE-Dinagat Islands, CPD partnership aims to support local workers
By Renelle L. Escuadro
BUTUAN CITY (PIA) – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Dinagat Islands and the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) Caraga, together with the provincial government of Dinagat Islands headed by Governor Nilo P. Demerey Jr., recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to nurture a workforce that is healthy, safe and thriving.
The MOA is designed to improve workers’ access to free health education, family counseling, and reproductive health services in the province and boost worker well-being, reduce health risks, and help families plan for a more secure future.
The partnership will highlight the collaboration of the three parties effective until December 31, 2028 to ensure sustained impact for the Dinagat Islands’ workforce, strengthening the mandate of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for a comprehensive and inclusive work support nationwide, while also adhering to Republic Act 10354 or the National Mandates of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act, and the Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act or Republic Act 8504.
“The Philippine Population and Development Plan of Action (PPD-POA) 2023–2028, approved by Malacañang Palace through Memorandum Circular No. 40 on November 14, 2023, is a national policy direction that ensures population and development concerns are properly addressed at the local level, in alignment with devolved functions under the Mandanas-Garcia ruling,” said CPD Caraga Director Alexander A. Makinano. “Hence, this new agreement pushes forward the implementation of PPD-POA 2023–2028 by integrating the services under the DOLE Family Welfare Program (FWP) in workplaces in the Province of Dinagat Islands.”
Engineer John Ritchie A. Tangpos, provincial head of DOLE Dinagat Islands and supervising labor and employment officer, said, “Through the MOA, DOLE Dinagat Islands will identify and work with local companies to bring these services directly to employees, saving them the time and cost of going to separate agencies.”
The partnership will also pave the way for CPD Caraga to handle technical expertise, training, counseling, and dissemination of information materials, while the provincial government of Dinagat Islands will provide logistical support. It will also include population and development indicators in company policies, ensuring that family welfare and health support become a standard benefit for employees in the province.
The new partnership agreement was signed on August 7, 2025 by Engineer Tangpos for DOLE Dinagat Islands, alongside Dir. Makinano on the part of CPD Caraga, and Sangguniang Bayan Member Jaypee T. Espares, chairperson of the Committee on Health and Sanitation and the Committee on Urban Planning, Housing, and Land Use, who represented the provincial government of Dinagat Islands. (RLE, PIA Dinagat Islands with a report from DOLE PDI)