TACLOBAN CITY — More than 1,100 workers in Eastern Visayas received monetary relief in 2025 after the regional office of the Department of Labor and Employment Regional Office (DOLE-8) facilitated the settlement of P18.9 million in labor-related claims through its Single Entry Approach (SEnA) Program.
DOLE-8 said the program benefited 1,122 workers and posted an 88.44 percent settlement rate, exceeding the national benchmark of at least 75 percent of resolved requests for assistance (RFAs).
Lawyer Dax Villaruel, DOLE regional director, said the results demonstrate the value of early, non-adversarial interventions in resolving workplace issues.
“By providing an accessible and non-adversarial mechanism, we are able to protect workers’ rights while promoting industrial peace,” he said in a statement.
Villaruel added that the timely settlement of monetary claims helped provide relief and a sense of justice to more than a thousand workers and their families across the region.
The SEnA program is designed to offer a speedy, cost-free, and accessible avenue for workers and employers to resolve labor concerns through conciliation and mediation, without the need for prolonged and costly court proceedings, DOLE said.
Based on a consolidated report submitted to the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB), the regional office handled 934 RFAs last year, of which 826 cases were successfully settled through conciliation and mediation.
The remaining cases were either withdrawn or referred to the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and other appropriate government agencies, while eight cases are scheduled for mandatory conferences.
Villaruel said 99 percent of all RFAs were disposed of, underscoring the effectiveness of the SEnA mechanism in addressing labor disputes at the earliest possible stage and preventing escalation into formal litigation.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
