DOLE Sagip-Trabaho Program 2026 — Wage Subsidy of Up to 90 Days for Small Businesses Hit by Wage Hikes
DOLE SAGIP-TRABAHO PROGRAM – If you run a small business that is struggling to keep up with the latest minimum wage increase, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) now has a program that can shoulder part of your workers’ pay for up to three months.
DOLE rolled out the Sagip-Trabaho Program in the National Capital Region on Thursday, November 5, 2026, with a launch in Valenzuela City led by Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino, the Philippine News Agency reported. The program is a flagship innovation under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program and aims to preserve jobs in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) facing temporary operational or financial difficulties.
What Is the Sagip-Trabaho Program?
According to Tolentino, the program covers up to 90 days of wages for eligible workers. As reported by ABS-CBN News, DOLE will cover the workers’ salary for three months to ease the burden of wage hikes and current economic conditions on businesses. In exchange, the company must make sure its operations will continue over the next six months.
When DOLE first announced the program in September, it explained that the direct wage subsidy covers the exact amount of the mandated wage increase, such as the ₱60 hike in Metro Manila, for up to 90 days, according to Remate Online.
The program will initially be implemented in Metro Manila and Central Visayas, which Tolentino said were the latest areas to have wage increases that reportedly affected businesses. It was first piloted at DOLE’s CAMANAVA Field Office with 13 partner employers and more than 200 covered workers.
Who Can Apply?
- Micro, small and medium enterprises having difficulty paying the mandated wage increase
- Employers with up to 35 registered workers
- Businesses that can prove they are financially distressed
Participating employers must continue paying their workers’ SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and ECC benefits, keep their employees’ jobs secure and fully comply with labor laws.
How To Apply for Sagip-Trabaho
Tolentino said business owners may apply online. Based on DOLE’s guidelines, qualified enterprises need to complete these steps:
- Submit proof that the business is legitimate through a DOLE-formatted Job Preservation and Business Continuity Plan (JPBCP).
- Sign an agreement with DOLE and the workers covered.
- Submit the complete requirements to the DOLE Regional or Field Office for assessment.
“Papatunayan nila na sila ay distressed. Papatunayan nila na ‘yung kanilang financial capacity ay hindi kakayanin,” Tolentino said in a chance interview, explaining that owners have to show they cannot afford the increase on their own.
First Beneficiary in Valenzuela
The launch was held at Mega-Jesta Prints, a printing company in Valenzuela that benefited from the program. Its owner, Ma. Teresita Ortico, told ABS-CBN News that the assistance will help her pay about half of her 60 workers and that the application process took less than a month.
Valenzuela Mayor Wes Gatchalian welcomed the program, noting that the city hosts around 15,000 factories and business establishments, about 90 percent of them MSMEs, and that owners are feeling the impact of rising fuel prices and weak exports.
“Our goal is for your businesses to continue operating — without having to close down — while also ensuring that your workers receive a salary increase,” Tolentino said during the launch, as quoted by PNA.
Have you heard about the latest minimum wage hike in other regions?
