ANY VACANCY? A woman checks job opportunities posted by different companies during a job fair held by the Manila city government鈥檚 Public Employment Service Office at a covered court in Tondo district in this file photo taken in 2022. 鈥擱ICHARD A. REYES
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Government officials on Tuesday forged an agreement to institutionalize the Public Employment Service Office (PESO).
During a ceremony at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Main Office in Manila on Tuesday, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr., and PESO Managers Association of the Philippines National President Luningning Vergara signed a memorandum of agreement for the institutionalization of PESO.
Under the agreement, DILG, DOLE, and PESOMAP will work together to establish a PESO office in each local government unit in the country.
鈥淪ana maging permanente 鈥榶ung opisina nila, maging permanente 鈥榶ung mga tao na hindi tuwing nagkakaroon ng palitan ng administrasyon ay nag-iiba po 鈥榶ung mga tao na nagmamanage ng PESO,鈥� Laguesma said in an ambush interview with reporters.
(I hope their office becomes permanent, and the people managing the PESO won鈥檛 change every time there鈥檚 a change in administration.)
Among the services that PESO offers are job facilitation, training, and the profiling of individuals who are qualified to receive support from the program.
鈥淭atlong taon lang ang termino ng isang alkalde鈥� kung magpapalit ka nang magpapalit [ng PESO officers] mahirap po 鈥榶un dahil mayroon siyang institutional knowledge,鈥� said Abalos.
(The term of a mayor is only three years鈥� if you keep changing them [PESO officers], it鈥檚 difficult because they have institutional knowledge.)
Meanwhile, Vergara hoped that the signed agreement would push PESO to take more initiatives that would raise the country鈥檚 employment rate.
READ: To qualify for good governance seal, LGU should have PESO 鈥� DOLE听
鈥淢as magkakaroon ng ngipin, mas magkakadrive ang mga PESO to do more things para mas maganda 鈥榶ung ating employability program,鈥� she said.
(The PESO will have more teeth, which will drive them to do more things to improve our employability program.)