PIA Press Release
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 Olongapo employment ofc grants 5,000 jobs in 2011OLONGAPO CITY, Jan. 25 (PIA) -- More than 5,000 job hunters gained employment in 2011 with the help of the city’s Public Employment Service Office (PESO).The PESO report said that through walk-in referrals, special recruitment activities (SRAs), local recruitment activities (LRAs) and job fairs, 4,965 applicants landed local jobs while 86 workers were deployed abroad from January to December 2011. “From January to December 2011, our office conducted 92 LRAs, 65 SRAs and five major job fairs for the convenience and comfort of our jobseekers,” explained Atty. Gene Vincent Perez, PESO Chief Consultant. “All these job recruitment activities are being done all year to ensure employment. Instead of jobseekers shouldering the costs of transporting to areas where the companies are located, we are bringing local and global job opportunities closer to them,” Perez added. “Our goal is to eventually beat unemployment,” Mayor James Gordon said in reaction to the report submitted by the PESO, stressing that labor is part of the Health, Education, Livelihood, Peace and Order, Sports and Social Service (HELPS) program, his administration’s major development and service agenda. According to the latest report from the city’s Community Based Monitoring System (CBMS), Olongapo’s employment rate is 97.83 percent while the unemployment rate is at 2.17 percent. The PESO also conducted 41 sessions of Career Guidance Coaching (CGS) to 19 secondary schools in the city last year to assist and prepare students in choosing their college courses. The sessions were attended by a total 5,181 third and fourth year high school students. Likewise, the office’s Labor Education for Graduating Students (LEGS) program conducted last year seminars on labor laws and basic human resources regulations with almost 1,500 graduating student attendees coming from 11 different colleges. Moreover, the PESO assisted 379 high school and college students to obtain temporary employment through the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) and SPES expanded program. The SPES beneficiaries were either assigned in different departments of the local government or at private establishments in the city. The SPES is an annual project of the Department of Labor and Employment, in cooperation with the city government of Olongapo and local business establishments. The program is in accordance with Republic Act 7323 to help poor but deserving students pursue their education through short-term employment during their summer vacation. “Patuloy nating gagawin ang SPES upang matulungan ang mga estudyanteng may kakayahan pero kapos sa buhay at maturuan silang kumita para sa kanilang pag-aaral. (We will continue to implement SPES to help students who have the abilty to study but have no means of paying for their education. We will also teach them how to earn money.)”Mayor Gordon explained. Perez added that the PESO provided assistance to 332 OFW families in availing various OWWA services and programs such as scholarships, repatriation and livelihood assistance. The OWWA recently turned over to PESO some P170,000 worth of livelihood assistance from the National Reintegration Center for OFWs. The amount will be distributed to repatriated workers in Olongapo City who filed their requests and documents with OWWA last year. The PESO was created in accordance to Republic Act No. 8759, otherwise known as the Public Employment Service Act of 1991, “to promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all.”(CLJD/AMV-PIA 3) | 
