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Over the past 23 years, the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) has been instrumental in helping Filipinos find and secure jobs in the Philippines and overseas. Enacted on Feb. 14, 2000, Republic Act 8759 paved the way for the establishment of PESOs in the capital towns of provinces, key cities and strategic areas around the country. The PESOs are community-based and maintained largely by local government units (LGUs) and a number of nongovernmental organizations or community-based organizations and state universities and colleges. They are linked to the regional offices of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for coordination and technical supervision, and to the DOLE central office, to constitute the national employment service network.
These PESOs have served as venues where people could look for employment opportunities and as referral and information centers for the various services and programs of DOLE and other government agencies present in the areas where they are situated. PESOs also provide clients with adequate information on employment and labor market situations in their areas and network with other PESOs within the region on employment for job exchange purposes.
Recognizing the important role played by the PESOs, Congress amended RA 8759 in 2015 through RA 10691 to further strengthen the system and expand its reach to the grassroots level in all LGUs across the country. As the acting chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor Employment and Human Resources at the time, I sponsored the measure that was principally authored by Senator Jinggoy Estrada. Seeing how the PESOs were able to help in minimizing unemployment and underemployment, we wanted to make sure that its success is replicated in more areas of the country.
With the enactment of RA 10691 on Oct. 26, 2015, PESOs were established in all provinces, cities and municipalities, to widen its reach and serve more Filipino jobseekers, regardless of where they are situated. The law also paved the way for the transformation of the PESO into a modern public employment service intermediary that provides multi-dimensional employment facilitation services. Aside from job facilitation, PESOs provide labor market trends and information, livelihood, skills and entrepreneurship training, and other capability-building initiatives.
According to the DOLE, at least two million jobseekers are being connected to job vacancies around the country every year through the PESOs. DOLE says this has significantly improved the quality of employment at the grassroots level. DOLE emphasized the key role of the PESO as its primary implementing arm for all of its employment bridging activities in every LGU across 16 regions of the country.
DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, who serves as the overall administrator and coordinator of the PESOs, reported that a total of 1,190 job fairs have been organized by the agency across the country since July of 2022. A total of 325,418 jobseekers registered for these job fairs and 50,849 of them were hired-on-the spot. Sec. Laguesma also took note of the contribution of RA 11261 or the First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act, which he said further expanded access to government service. We authored this law back in the 17th Congress with the intent of easing the burden of first time jobseekers by exempting them from the payment of government documents that are required of them for employment. Many of these jobseekers are fresh graduates and have no money to spare for securing these government documents. As a policy, government should make it easier for its people to make a living even if it means sacrificing a little in terms of lost revenue.
In the labor force survey for August 2023, the unemployment rate in the country went down to 4.4 percent from 4.8 percent in July. This was significantly lower than the 5.3 percent recorded over the same period last year. Underemployment, on the other hand, declined to 11.7 percent in August, from 15.9 percent in July.
The annual National PESO Congress, which brings together PESO managers, local chief executives, and job placement officers, is intended to map out strategies for employment and to align these with the Philippine Labor and Employment Plan 2023 to 2028. The DOLE, together with the Public Employment Service Office Managers Association of the Philippines, chose the theme “Unified PESO: Foundation for Gainful Employment, Digitalization, and Economic Progress” for this year’s PESO Congress. This is very timely and appropriate considering the huge advances in technology and the way digitalization has become a part of all transactions, processes and our daily lives as a whole. Adapting to the latest trends and the new normal is key to make the PESO stronger, more effective and continuously relevant in addressing joblessness among Filipinos ([email protected]| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara)
(Senator Sonny Angara has been in public service for 19 years — nine years as representative of the lone district of Aurora, and 10 as Senator. He has authored, co-authored, and sponsored more than 330 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate.)