SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union -- Seven local government units (LGUs) of Region 1 have created the Barangay Employment Services Offices (BESO) to help facilitate information on job opportunities at the barangay level.

In a report from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Region 1, the towns of Bacnotan and Naguilian, both in La Union; Infanta, Mangatarem, Sual and Urbiztondo, all in Pangasinan; and Alaminos City, also in Pangasinan, have already created their own BESO.

This comprised 262 barangays that operate their own employment facilitation structures.

DOLE Region 1 Regional Director Exequiel Ronie A. Guzman noted that creating BESO is a better way to ensure that job opportunities thrive in the communities.

The BESO will help every job seeker in the barangay search for decent and productive employment.

“These are noble innovations that our LGUs in the region undertake, all in the name of public service excellence,” said Director Guzman.

“While there is no national directive yet to create BESOs, our Public Employment Services Office (PESO) Managers have taken these steps ahead to enhance and elevate their functions on employment facilitation,” he added.

For Mildred Hernandez, PESO Manager of Infanta, Pangasinan, the creation of BESOs was more than just to facilitate employment – it empowered barangays and local officials as drivers of social change.

With the full support of the town’s officials, and with Hernandez’s constant prodding, Infanta was the first in the region to have institutionalized BESO via local legislation.

“Municipal Ordinance No. 02-2021 was passed on March 22, 2021. It was the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, and yet our Sangguniang Bayan saw the essence of this initiative, hence prioritized for its enactment,” said Hernandez.

The ordinance identified the functions of BESO, among which include keeping a record of jobseekers in the barangay; identifying job vacancies in establishments in the barangay; posting of available vacancies in conspicuous places in the barangay such as barangay hall, schools, and sari-sari stores.

“We are excited because the BESOs will surely help us discover that there are hundreds and more opportunities in the home of the Hundred Islands,” said Eleanor Bruno, PESO Manager of Alaminos City.

The PESO manager said the BESOs were instrumental in a streamlined implementation of essential DOLE programs in barangays such as TUPAD, livelihood programs, job fairs, and development programs on child labor, career guidance, and the national skills registry.

Moreover, the BESOs were also key in strengthening the campaign against illegal recruitment and trafficking in person.

“Through their roles now in employment facilitation, barangay officials and volunteers now realize that indeed, they are catalysts of change in their own communities,” said Bruno.