Davao del Norte to employ over a thousand students

More than a thousand high school and college students will be employed in Davao del Norte this summer under the government’s Special Program for Employment of Students (Spes).
DOLE provincial director Milagros Gutierrez said the Spes program in the province is a joint undertaking of the Department of Labor and Employment and the provincial government, together with its various local government units.
Five private and business entities in the province have pledged to join the program and employ students in their establishments. These include the Grand Mall of Tagum, JS Gaisano, Gaisano Center, Grand Mall of Panabo City and the One Network Bank of Kapalong.
Gutierrez said the Spes program aims to provide opportunity to poor but deserving students get employment during the summer and Christmas vacations.
She said this will enable them to earn money to help their families and gain education vouchers to pay for school expenditures while acquiring on-the-job training and experience.
Provincial PESO coordinator Gloria Pamugas said the SPES grantees will be employed for a period of 20 days each at various offices of the provincial government, national government agencies, the LGUs and the participating business establishments.
The students will be divided into two batches, with the first batch starting on April 6 and the second batch on May 4.
She said each of the students will receive a daily wage of P200, adding that based on Republic Act 7323, 60 percent of the students’ salary will be paid by the local government or participating private company while the remaining 40 percent will be shouldered by the DOLE.
This summer, the provincial government will employ some 225 Spes grantees. The province allocated the amount of P8.7 million as counterpart for the program.
Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario lauded the program as a noble mechanism to help students from indigent families pursue their education and harness their potential for the development of the country.