NEARLY P1 billion has been allotted for Youth Employability Programs, a project under the Department of Labor and Employment, for the 2025 budget that had a significant increase from the previous outlay, according to the Department of Budget and Management.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said DOLE’s Special Program for Employment of Students got an allocation of P828.9 million, while its Job Start Program received P155.2 million.

“Nagkaroon po ito ng substantial na increase of 84 percent from last year’s budget dahil ito po… iyon, P449 (million) po ang naging increase dito,” Pangandaman said.

In his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. mentioned the concerted efforts of different agencies to boost the potential and employability of young Filipinos.

On Wednesday, Marcos received the P6.352-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for fiscal year 2025 from DBM.

Earlier, DBM said that the proposed budget for 2025 will be “highly responsive to the most urgent concerns of Filipinos.”

“Our goal as always is to uplift the lives of the Filipino people,” Pangandaman said.