Labor Day 2017 crowd at the Sisters of Mary Girls Town in Talisay City. (CDN PHOTO/MICHELLE JOY L. PADAYHAG)
About 720 employees and management representatives from four cities in Cebu joined the Labor Day 2017 celebration in Talisay City on Monday morning.
The day’s celebration kicked off with a caravan from Lapu-Lapu City Hall going to Sister’s of Mary Girls Town in Talisay City at 6 a.m. with people from the cities of Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Cebu and Talisay joining.
It was followed by a Eucharistic Mass at 8 a.m. officiated by Fr. Filomeno Ybañez Jr., who encouraged the attendees to value their work.
“Love your work and love your family,” Fr. Ybañez said in his homily.
He also hopes to have more dedicated and hardworking workers in the country for the nation and families to survive.
Present during the event were Talisay City Mayor Eduardo Gullas, Talisay City Vice Mayor Alan G. Bucao, Cebu City Councilor Sisinio Andales and Mandaue City Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna.
Engineer Elias Cayanong, the regional director of Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Assistant Secretary Lawyer Maria Gloria Tango, assistant secretary of DOLE were also present during the celebration.
Asec. Tango represented DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III, who is attending the national celebration of Labor Day 2017 with President Rodrigo Duterte in Davao City.
Duterte is also scheduled to meet labor group leaders in the afternoon in Davao City.
“Ang araw ng Paggawa ay araw din ng pagkilos upang maisakatuparan ang adhikain ng ‘Ambisyon Natin 2040’ (A Long Term Vision for the Philippines) na may hangarin na ang lahat ng Filpino ay magkaroon ng matatag, maginhawa, at panatag na buhay,” Tango reads Bello’s message.
Newly appointed board of trustees of the Industry Tripartite Council (ITC) in cities of Talisay, Mandaue, Construction and Maritime also took their oath during the celebration.
One of the highlights of the celebration was the releasing of livelihood grants for the local government of Talisay and Lapu-Lapu City.
Job seekers can also apply at the ongoing job fairs at the Cebu City Sports Center, SM City Cebu, Cebu Provincial Capitol and at Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City.