PIA Press Release
Sunday, January 22, 2012

Makati bats for more jobs, OFW protection

by Jerome Carlo R. Paunan

MAKATI CITY, Jan. 22 (PIA) -- The local government of Makati has intensified its support to providing assistance and protection for both local job seekers and overseas workers, a statement said over the weekend.

This, after Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin S. Binay signed an agreement with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) NCR to boost the city's employment programs.

Binay and POEA Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac signed the memorandum of understanding on anti-illegal recruitment (AIR) information campaign to ensure protection of Makati residents who wish to work abroad.

Another agreement for a National Skills Registry System (NSRS) was also forged between Makati and DOLE-NCR through Director Raymundo C. Agravante to promote access to relevant labor market information and qualified manpower source data base.

Binay underscored the support of concerned agencies who provide a comprehensive database for job matching and massive labor-benefit information campaign. He also cited the increasing size of employable work force in the city and number of its overseas workers.

“We are grateful for the collaborative support of DOLE and POEA to our livelihood and employment programs, as the challenge is not only to provide jobs but also to ensure the workers’ protection locally and abroad,” Binay said.

For his part, POEA’s Cacdac assured Binay of the agency’s “all-out support to (the city) workers’ protection and employment program,” informing the mayor that the POEA Help Desk for the south-eastern section of Metro Manila will be put up in Makati. A poster-marker detailing “10 Commandments to Avoid Illegal Recruitment” was also turned over by Cacdac to the mayor.

Under the agreement, the POEA shall assist Makati, through its Public Employment Service Office (PESO), in the regular conduct of pre-employment orientation and anti-illegal recruitment seminars, as well as provide lists of jobs available overseas and all necessary assistance to safeguard the welfare of overseas Filipino workers. Moreover, the POEA Help Desk will provide all other possible assistance to overseas job seekers and even returning workers as part of its thrust of continuous public service.

Seminars on overseas employment for PESO staff, Overseas Pre-Employment Orientation Seminar (PEOS) and AIR have been regularly featured in Labor Education for Graduating Students (LEGS) program in the city’s colleges and universities.

Makati’s Overseas Filipino Workers Program, on the other hand, has been extending financial assistance to repatriated OFWs and their families, such as inclusion in the Government Internship Program (GIP), Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES), and technical training at the University of Makati (UMAK) through the Makati Training Placement and Livelihood Consortia (MTPLC).

Meanwhile, Makati PESO is assured of keeping its status as the Best PESO in the Phil-Jobnet Category of DOLE, having the highest number of job applicants registered online with 37,600. During the National Labor Day Job Fair last year (May 1, 2011), the NSRS Makati was also designated to be Metro Manila’s distribution center and spearhead the use of the bar code readable Phil-Jobnet Cards by jobseekers nationwide.

The NSRS software features database of job hunters, skilled workers and establishments in Makati’s 33 barangays, equipped through the Barangay PESO Satellite Program (BESO) with needed tools for job matching and monitoring of applicants and employers in their respective communities. (ICRD/RJB/JCP-PIA NCR)