47 foreign investors to employ Davao folk

MANILA, Philippines – Some 600 jobseekers in Davao would soon be given employment after 47 foreign investors and officials of companies, who were enticed by the benefits offered by the Bureau of Immigration, decided to set up businesses in the province.

BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan recently led the launching of the agency’s Special Visa for Employment Generation (SVEG) program in Davao. House Speaker and Davao City Rep. Prospero Nograles and other Immigration officials attended the affair.

During the presentation of SVEG certificates to the awardees, Libanan said it is the agency’s fitting tribute to Filipino workers in time for the celebration of Independence Day.

SVEG provides indefinite stay to a foreign employer who provides full-time jobs to at least 10 Filipino workers in legitimate and sustainable business in the Philippines. The new job-generating visa aims to create at least 100,000 jobs in its first year alone.

Through the program, the BI could attract more foreign businesses to enter the country and discourage Filipinos from seeking jobs overseas. If the workers remain in their home province, they do not have to endure long, lonely separations from their loved ones, Libanon said.

To date, the BI’s SVEG has created close to 21,000 new jobs to Filipino workers. Seventeen firms based in the city were the latest recipients of the SVEG since President Arroyo signed an executive order creating the SVEG.