DOLE to help skilled male workers from Zambo siege victims

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines  - The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will be tapping 800 male overseas job seekers from the evacuees displaced by the standoff brought about by the hostage-taking of the Nur Misuari faction of the Moro National Liberation Front.

Labor regional director Sisinio Cano said the hiring of the evacuees is on top of the DOLE P19-millionregular program and employment services for this year which include P5-million for the integrated livelihood, internship and emergency employment program worth P5.6-million.

Cano said the special project came about following the request of City Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar to find programs of employment overseas for male evacuees.

He said the program was immediately approved by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and deployed her two labor  attachés to arrange the needed hiring of the beneficiaries.

“On top of this regular program and services of DOLE we have special project that was launched last week wherein we are trying to provide employment to those internally displaced persons in Zamboanga City as an offshoot of the conflict last year,” Cano said.

He said the DOLE regional office is working it out for the employment opportunity of skilled  workers from the IDPs while trying to minimize the hiring of household workers or women.

The labor regional director said to ensure an improved quality of jobs overseas, a memorandum of agreement was inked between the city government and the different accredited recruitment agencies

He said the Technical Education and Skills Development Authorities (TESDA) will assist them to ensure those evacuees deployed are skilled workers.

Cano said the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the local government unit were tapped to facilitate that the employment of the 800 evacuees will a have minimal cost and assured the evacuees they are properly hired to avoid them from getting in the illegal recruitment activity. - Roel Pareño