GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Researchers from the Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) conducted a series of data collection activities in General Santos City from 13 to 16 May 2025, as part of its ongoing study, “Mapping the Just Transition Pathways of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Coconut, Fruits, and Processed Fruits in the Philippines through Global Economic, Social, and Governance (ESG) Regulations.” 

The study aims to investigate the application of just transition for exporting MSMEs and their workers in the coconut sector, in compliance with foreign ESG regulations. 

The research team, led by Senior Labor and Employment Officer Mr. Joe Mari Francisco, along with team members Diether Navarosa and John Rod Sadia, presented the objectives of the study and fieldwork activities across the region to Ms. Fatima Quorayce L. Bataga, Assistant Regional Director of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional Office XII, and Ms. Mary Jane C. Hoksuan, Chief Labor and Employment Officer of DOLE General Santos City Field Office. 

Engr. Joel M. Gonzales, Regional Director of DOLE RO XII, commended the study’s potential to help inform DOLE’s policies MSMEs and farmer associations. 

As part of the research methodology, a series of interviews were conducted with select enterprises identified through the Philippine Coconut Authority’s (PCA) Gawad Saka Award. Surveys were also administered to farm workers affiliated with a cooperative supplying coconut to the enterprise, providing key insights into labor practices and supply chain dynamics.  

This study is one of eight ongoing research projects of the Institute for Fiscal Year 2025 and will be presented at the DOLE Research Conference in October. 

###