Legazpi City taps 400 students for special employment program

By Connie Calipay and Emmanuel Solis

The Legazpi City government tapped some 400 students and out-of-school-youths for this year’s Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) starting July 15.

Diosdado Rañeses, manager of the city’s Public Employment Service Office (PESO), said the students will render services, not in different city offices, but by doing urban gardening in their respective residences for 20 days.

“It is one way to serve as a training for the youth-students to learn the importance of gardening, edible landscaping, among others,” he said.

Rañeses said youth beneficiaries cannot be accommodated in the city hall office as one way of preventing the spread of Covid-19 amid increasing cases.

“As a strategy to still continue the program and instead of letting them clean their barangays like the Department of Labor and Employment-Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (DOLE-TUPAD) beneficiaries, I suggested that they’ll do the urban gardening also as a method for them to appreciate agriculture farming. And it was duly approved by the regional director of DOLE,” he said.

On day one of their deployment, qualified students attended an orientation conducted by Legazpi City PESO, City Veterinary Office, and City Agriculture Office with the DOLE regional office representative to provide the guidelines and rules.

Those under the program will receive a salary of about P10,000, of which 60 percent or P6,000 will be paid by the city while the remaining 40 percent or P4,000 will be shouldered by DOLE.

The beneficiaries are youths between 15 to 30 years old who are in school, as well as out-of-school youths who want to earn money for enrolment.

Rañeses added the beneficiaries will need to submit photo documentation as proof of their work for 20 days.

Based on Legazpi City PESO records, SPES beneficiaries last year only reached 150. (PNA)