National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban Sunday revealed that 370,000 people have been hired under the Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP) just 10 months after it was implemented.

He said he is confident that the target of 460,000 jobs will be met by yearned. Around 40,000 were hired by CLEEP from August to November alone.

"The government has made critical progress under the program these past few months and it has done so at good pace," Panganiban said. He noted the latest batch of CLEEP beneficiaries brings the total number of workers hired under the program to some 370,475 individuals.

"This latest tally includes workers hired through EO 782 and EO 783, which direct national agencies to hire displaced workers to fill vacant positions in their offices," Panganiban said.

CLEEP beneficiaries are put to work on a wide range of public infrastructure, service and enterprise development projects throughout the country. "Workers hired under the CLEEP are now helping to build our roads, repair our irrigation facilities, protect the environment, and spur the expansion of Filipino trade and commerce, among others," he added.

Panganiban said that projects under the CLEEP are implemented by some 20 frontline national agencies.

"The Department of Agriculture (DA) has employed the most number of workers under the program so far this year, hiring more than 100,000 Filipinos for such efforts as the construction of farm-to-market roads and the rehabilitation of irrigation systems," Panganiban said.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) ranked second, employing around 71,000 individuals as of November this year for its various environmental protection efforts.

The NAPC chief noted that P13.7 billion has been released to finance the CLEEP this year.

"The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has already released over P9 billion of the allocated funds to the program's various implementing agencies," he announced.