DMDP may be forced to suspend holding jobs fair

CEBU, Philippines - The head of the Department of Manpower Development and Placement is apprehensive that they may not be able to hold local and overseas jobs fairs because of lack of funds to finance it after the Cebu City Council has slashed the department’s budget for maintenance and other operating expenses.

DMDP chief Fidel Magno however is hoping that Mayor Michael Rama and Councilor Margot Osmeña will make good of their promise to give them additional budget for MOOE.

Magno said his department needs additional fund to hold jobs fair to help jobseekers find a job here and abroad.

Magno said he has scheduled 35 jobs fairs in different barangays for the whole year that will cost P1 million, and five local and overseas jobs fairs that will also cost P488,000.

He is even thinking of conducting jobs fair for persons with disability. According to him, he will not be able to push through these schedules with only P80,000 budget.

The council earlier slashed the P3,494,200 budget proposed by the Local Finance Committee into P80,282.

The DMDP’s MOOE budget in 2010 was P10,105,738 . It was increased to P11,049,543 in 2011. Magno said he was so surprised that their budget was pruned in 2012.

Magno said the holding of a so-called “mega jobs fair” that will be conducted at the Cebu City Sports Center where dozens of employers and companies will participate will already cost about P100,000 and P25,000 if it will be held in the barangays.

While the City Council did not touch the P13,840,432 proposed budget for the personal services that include the salaries and other benefits of the DMDP employees but the MOOE was slashed.

According to Magno, the DMDP was able to help thousands of jobless persons by conducting series of jobs fairs last year.

In a press conference yesterday, Magno said he immediately made representations with Osmeña and Rama after discovering that he was only given P80,282 budget for MOOE.

He explained that with a limited amount of MOOE he was forced to suspend jobs fairs except for those that will be conducted only at the DMDP office.– (FREEMAN)