The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), through the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC), recognized nine (9) micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as top awardees in the 10th edition of the Productivity Olympics held on 01 October 2025 at Taguig City. The national winners each received a Php 125,000.00 cash prize, a trophy, and priority endorsement to NWPC training programs and services.  

In his message, Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma highlighted the importance of productivity. “We have always emphasized that improving productivity is important because it drives economic growth. A highly productive economy means that we produce more goods or services with the same amount or lesser resources. This boosts our competitiveness which helps the economy attract more investments for employment, offer lower prices of goods and services, and provide higher wages,” he said. 

“To our awardees this year, may you continue to be proof that productivity leads to prosperity, and may other enterprises find inspiration in the stories that you shared throughout the 2025 Productivity Olympics journey,” Secretary Laguesma continued.   

The Secretary also assured winners and finalists that DOLE and NWPC will continue to engage them with programs and services and particularly mentioned the DOLE Adjustment Measures Program as support to MSMEs in improving productivity.  

NWPC Executive Director Maria Criselda R. Sy encouraged the Productivity Olympics finalists and winners alike to continue to adapt, innovate, and thrive in a rapidly changing business environment. 

“The Productivity Olympics is a showcase, but it is also a call to action for all MSMEs to continue striving for excellence and productivity. Let this recognition inspire every MSME to move forward knowing that productivity is both a path to competitiveness and a commitment to nation-building. May the inspiring stories of the awardees remind us that the true measure of success is not how much we keep, but how much we share,” Executive Director Sy said.  

The Productivity Olympics is a national competition that showcases exemplary productivity improvement programs and practices among MSMEs nationwide. Thirty MSME finalists in the agribusiness, service, and industry sectors competed for top honors, but only nine emerged as national winners.  

Winners were selected through a rigorous multi-stage process that began with regional screenings of 156 MSMEs and culminated in national-level evaluations. The enterprises were evaluated based on business excellence (65 percent), and employee engagement and empowerment (35 percent) as major criteria. The following enterprises were announced as winners in their respective categories: 

Agribusiness sector: 

Industry sector:  

Service sector:  

Apart from national winners, the following enterprises received the Gawad Inklusibo special citation which acknowledges enterprises that have shown notable leadership and innovation in promoting gender equality and social inclusion: 

David’s Agri Business of Region II was conferred the Gawad Luntian special citation which recognizes enterprises with contributions to environmental sustainability and efforts in generating green job opportunities in accordance with Republic Act No. 10771 or the Philippine Green Jobs Act. 

RTWPB-CARAGA was also recognized as the 2025 Best RTWPB for producing the greatest number of winners in the competition.  

In his closing remarks, Undersecretary Benedicto Ernesto R. Bitonio, Jr., cluster head of the NWPC, reaffirmed support for MSMEs through the various programs and services, not just of NWPC, but by DOLE. He also asked MSMEs to be active partners of DOLE in training other enterprises.  

“Sana hindi lang kayo babalik sa inyong mga negosyo at i-apply ang inyong mga napag-aralan pero tulungan niyo din kami na mag train ng iba pang MSMEs para ang inyong expertise, business acumen, and experience ay matap for purposes of transferring knowledge to other MSMEs,” he said.  

Finally, he expressed hope that MSMEs will have a renewed commitment to champion productivity in their own communities.   

“At the end of this awarding ceremony, [I hope] we leave this venue with renewed vigor to champion the importance of labor and enterprise productivity in our own communities. In the tradition of the Olympics, when we go back to our respective homes, we go by the Olympic credo, ‘altius, fortius, citius’ [citius, altius, fortius], which means we go higher, we go stronger, and we go faster,” said Undersecretary Bitonio.