March 29, 2024

BONTOC, Mountain Province – The municipal government in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment has employed students and out-of-school youth this vacation through the Special Program for the Employment of Students.

Those who are qualified in the program are 15 to 30 years old, willing to continue their education, able to meet the qualifications and accomplish the documentary requirements, and they belong to a family whose annual income does not exceed the poverty threshold of the Cordillera with a family of six.

According to Municipal Labor and Employment Officer II Gladys Sawi, 84 SPES beneficiaries were deployed in the 16 barangays of Bontoc to conduct house profiling which is necessary for collecting information at the barangay level needed by the municipal government, national government agencies, non-government organizations, and civil society for planning, program implementation, and monitoring.

SPES workers shall complete the total number of 20 official working days which started on July 18 and will end on Aug. 12. They are to be paid P464.95 per day, which will come from the 60 percent counterpart of the municipal government and 40 percent from the DOLE.

Prior to their deployment to their respective work assignments, the PESO oriented the SPES workers on their duties and responsibilities and the documentary requirements they have to submit upon completion of work.

Like in the previous years, Sawi said seven persons with disability are included as SPES workers as they are one of the sectors of the society that should not be left behind, but instead be given equal opportunity.

Mayor Jerome Tudlong, Jr. assured the continuity of the program as it does not only provide income to financially constrained students but most importantly, it develops their intellectual and practical capacities through exposure and actual job experience.

The program is also in line with the present administration’s roadmap for the next three years – “Enlangakha: Achieving the Vision for a Dynamic Bontoc.”

Englangakha is an old Bontok term meaning to shine brightly. One of its pillars is to empower communities, which includes promoting health and nutrition and local culture and the arts; strengthening support for education and youth development; and maintaining peace and order.

The SPES, a yearly job generation program of the government, is intended to help poor but deserving students to pursue their studies by providing them employment during vacations to augment their tuition for the coming school year. It aims to develop the intellectual capacities of children and harness their potential for the country’s well-being. – Alpine K. Malwagay