Executive Director Mary Grace Riguer and Deputy Executive Director Stephanie Tabladillo of the Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) joined the Philippine delegation to the 37th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Human Resources Development Working Group (HRDWG) Meeting held in Boracay, Aklan on May 14 to 17, 2015.

The Philippines plays host to this year’s APEC meetings which will culminate in the Leaders’ Summit in November. As host, the Philippines adopted the theme, “Building Inclusive Economies, Building A Better World.”

High-level officials from the 21 APEC economies attended the annual HRDWG Meeting to discuss ways of cooperation to improve human resources for more inclusive growth in the region. The Working Group consists of three networks with particular concerns for the areas of labor and social protection, education and capacity building.

In the opening session, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz delivered a keynote message, underscoring the importance of addressing the social dimension of increasing globalization to promote the economic participation of women, persons with disabilities, youth, migrant workers and other vulnerable groups. She described human resources as “our most important asset” in the region.

The Philippine delegates presented various labor and employment initiatives throughout the meeting. The Philippine TalentMap Initiative is an ongoing collaborative project of DOLE with Servicio Filipino Inc., which aims to establish a database of current skills supply and shortages in the country and to help guide interventions both by the government and the private sector.

The delegation also presented another project proposal in collaboration with Chinese Taipei for the conduct later this year of a seminar on the facilitation of human resource mobility through enhanced social protection.

Initiatives by other economies supported by the Philippines included the Healthy Women, Healthy Economy project of the United States, with two seminar-workshops set this year, and the World Vision’s ABK3 project on livelihood, education, advocacy and the elimination of child labor in the sugarcane industry.

The HRDWG Meeting was chaired by Dr. Sergey Ivanets from Russia. DOLE Undersecretary Reydeluz Conferido led the APEC-Philippines HRDWG preparations and also sat as vice-chair during the four-day meeting.

The delegation also included DOLE Assistant Secretary Katherine Brimon, who served as vice-chair during the breakout meeting of the Labor and Social Protection Network; Administrator  Hans Leo Cacdac of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration; Commissioner Angeline Chua Chiaco of the Philippine Regulations Commission; Executive Director  Stella Banawis of the Employees Compensation Commisssion; Director Saul De Vries of the DOLE International Labor Affairs Bureau; Director Cristina Quismundo of DOLE Administrative Service; and Director Dominique Tutay of the DOLE Bureau of Local Employment, who headed the APEC-Philippines HRDWG Secretariat.

ILS staff Kim Pacete, Mira Tacadao and Ronell Delerio provided substantive and technical assistance for the preparation and conduct of the APEC HRDWG Meeting.

The Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) is the policy research and advocacy arm of the Department of Labor and Employment. For more information on this story, please contact Ronell J. Delerio of the Advocacy and Publications Division at 527-3490 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..