DUMAGUETE CITY – Hundreds of beneficiaries received financial assistance and employment opportunities during the 128th Philippine Independence Day celebration held Friday at a shopping mall here.

The event, led by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Negros Oriental, featured a Kalayaan Job Fair offering some 1,400 local and overseas job vacancies, along with payouts under various government assistance programs.

DOLE distributed benefits under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD), the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES), and the Workers Organization Development Program Plus (WODP-Plus).

A total of 100 students received partial wage payments of about P4,000 each under SPES, representing DOLE's 40-percent counterpart for their 20-day employment.

The remaining 60 percent will be provided by the Dumaguete City government.

Maria Socorro Mira, head of the city’s Public Employment Service Office (PESO), said 250 students are enrolled in the SPES program, but only 100 received their payments during the Independence Day activity.

The beneficiaries will receive their full wages on June 15 upon completion of their employment period, she added.

Among the recipients was 19-year-old Roxanne Pagbonocan of Barangay Looc, who expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work during the summer.

Assigned to the City Social Welfare and Development Office, Pagbonocan said the experience allowed her to learn basic social work skills that would be useful as she prepares to enter college this school year.

“It can be challenging and overwhelming, but it was also enjoyable because it allowed me to gain knowledge and new skills,” she said.

Meanwhile, 174 transport workers from Valencia town received P11,000 each under the TUPAD program.

The assistance is intended to help offset fuel and other daily expenses amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has affected fuel prices.

Isidro Alviola, a motorcycle-for-hire or (habal-habal) driver, thanked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and DOLE for the aid, describing it as a significant help to his family.

He said part of the assistance would be used to purchase school supplies for his children, whose classes started this week.

Under the WODP-Plus program, DOLE also turned over a check for more than P1.3 million to the employees’ association of the Silliman University Medical Center Foundation Inc.

The grant will fund a livelihood project involving the retail of assorted goods.

According to DOLE-Negros Oriental Information Officer Raizza Phoebe Rubia, the assistance was coursed through DOLE-accredited partner Prudential Customs Brokerage Services Inc., which identified the beneficiary organization.

As of Friday afternoon, three job seekers had already been hired on the spot during the job fair, Rubia said. The event offered around 1,400 employment opportunities from participating local and overseas employers.

Some government agencies also participated in the one-stop shop to cater to the needs of the job fair applicants and other individuals. (PNA)