(October 24, 2012) Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Teofisto
Guingona III urged the local chief executives to put on their priority lists
the creation of employment service officers in their Local Government Units
(LGU).
Speaking in front of more than
700 Public Employment Service Officers (PESO) who attended the annual National
PESO Congress in Baguio City on October 10 to 13, both senators expressed their
sympathy to PESOs, who despite the bulk of their work, still continue to
function on designated capacities.
The two senators believed that
PESOs do contribute a lot in curbing the problem of unemployment in their
respective localities, and the country in general.
Results of the July 2012 Labor
Force Survey conducted by the National Statistics Office showed that there are
2.8 million jobless Filipinos.
Estrada, who also sits as
chairperson of the Senate Committee on Labor and Employment, said that it is
high time that governors and mayors start creating plantilla positions for
employment service officers as mandated by Republic Act 8759 otherwise known as
the PESO Act of 1999. “If we really want to address the problem of unemployment
and jobs mismatch, then it is imperative to institutionalize the PESOs”, Estrada
said.
Guingona was also impressed at
the various accomplishments of PESOs in many parts of the country that even
despite the lack of manpower, they are still able to do their share of reducing
unemployment in their areas. “I’m sure that PESO Managers can be more effective
in their work if they are given support staff and budget allocation.” said
guingona. “Above all, they can function efficiently if their positions relative
to employment are permanent in the local government.
The Bureau of Local Employment
(BLE) reports that as of this year, there are 1,834 established PESOs
nationwide but only 1,205 are considered operational. The BLE report further showed that only 119
PESOs are institutionalized. However, there was a positive improvement on the
BLE report that showed a remarkable increase in institutionalized PESOs in three
years time. In 2010, not even one PESO is institutionalized.
Under the PESO Act, LGUs are
mandated to institutionalize existing PESOs including the support staff so that
promotion of employment in their respective areas of jurisdiction is given
focus and priority. By institutionalization, permanent positions for the PESO
personnel are created and funded to carry out the various tasks on employment.
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| PESO Managers of Sultan Kudarat Province |
The core functions of a PESO
include job search assistance and placement services, labor market information
services, administration of labor market programs, and regulatory services.
Allan Freno
Allan Freno
