| Kagawaran ng Paggawa at Empleo | |
Logo of the department | |
Flag of the department | |
DOLE building, Intramuros, Manila | |
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | December 8, 1933; 91 years ago (1933-12-08) |
| Headquarters | DOLE Building, Muralla corner General Luna St.,Intramuros,Manila |
| Employees | 2,109 (2024)[1] |
| Annual budget | |
| Minister responsible | |
| Department executive |
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| Website | www |
TheDepartment of Labor and Employment (DOLE;Filipino:Kagawaran ng Paggawa at Empleo)[3] is theexecutive department of thePhilippine government responsible for formulating policies, implementing programs and services, and serving as the policy-coordinating arm of the executive branch in the field of labor and employment. It is tasked with the enforcement of the provisions of theLabor Code.[4]
Beginning as a bureau in 1908, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) was founded on December 8, 1933, by virtue of Act No. 4121 of thePhilippine Legislature.[5] During theGreat Depression, the labor department experienced challenges, particularly peasant violence throughoutCentral Luzon. The first labor secretary,Ramon Torres, proved to be unpopular among sugar workers due to him being a sugarhacendero himself. PresidentManuel L. Quezon then replaced Torres withJose Avelino, who was a staunch anti-communist. Ineffective to handle the continued violence, Avelino was replaced withLeon Guinto as its third labor secretary. Unlike Avelino, Guinto suggested social reforms to the president, albeit, creating a program dubbed "Quezonian communism". He thought that this would counter communism in the Philippines.[6]: 232
It was renamed as the Ministry of Labor and Employment in 1978. The agency was reverted to its original name after thePeople Power Revolution in 1986.[7]
The department is headed by a Secretary with the following Undersecretaries and Assistant Secretaries: