Student workers from Zambo get salaries on time

MANILA, Philippines - Despite the recent armed conflict in Zamboanga  City student workers in the city still got their salaries on time, the  Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday.

DOLE Undersecretrary Danilo Cruz said their regional office has released some P1.4 million for the payment of salaries of Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) beneficiaries in Zamboanga City.

“The amount represented the 40 percent counterpart salary from the DOLE for the 825 SPES beneficiaries,” Cruz noted.

Cruz said the DOLE continued to implement the SPES and even intensified programs for gainful employment through education and livelihood assistance even during the crisis.

The program, he said, is part of the government’s poverty alleviation and job generation efforts at the local level.

“The SPES is an opportunity to enhance the employability of the youth, who will eventually be the next generation of the country’s workforce,” Cruz explained.

Aside from giving the opportunity to earn, Cruz stressed that SPES gives student workers the chance to continue their studies as well as increase their employability in the future.

“With the reinforced implementation of SPES in the regions, we are confident that the lives of thousands of Filipino students who have no means, but have the ability, to pursue college education, will improve,” he explained.

Cruz said the support of the private sector and the local government ensure the success of the SPES and enables the government to maximize the use and benefit of limited funds.

The labor official also reported that DOLE has awarded the I-Café Computer Services Project of Ave Maria College Associate of Computer and Information Technology (AMC-ACIT) Alumni Association in Liloy, Zamboanga del Nortea P373,400 livelihood assistance grant, under the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program.

The association was also able to employ a shop-supervisor, who receives an honorarium of P3,000 per month.

The DILP is one of the DOLE’s program enrolled under the government’s Community-Based Employment Program (CBEP) which aims to generate sustainable local enterprises towards increased self-employment and productivity across the regions.

 â€œWith DILP, we now move forward to boosting sustainable employment creation and productivity in the regions,” Cruz said.