Poe asks gov’t to promptly implement First Time Job Seekers Assistance Act

Senator Grace Poe. INQUIRER.net / CATHY MIRANDA

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Grace Poe on Tuesday called on concerned government agencies to immediately act on the newly signed law that waives fees on government-issued documents needed by first-time job seekers.

Poe is among the authors of Republic Act 11261 or the “First Time Job Seekers Assistance Act,” which was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 10.

READ: Duterte signs law waiving gov’t fees for first-time jobseekers

“Inaasahan natin na ang mga ahensya ng pamahalaan ay tatalima at mabilis na kikilos para bigyang katuparan ang batas na ito para sa ating mga kabataan,” Poe said in a statement.

(We are expecting that government agencies will follow and act swiftly to implement the law for our youth.)

The senator said the law manifests the government’s effort to help jobseekers or those just starting with careers they wish to pursue.

“We hail the signing of the new law.  Starting a job can be a struggle. Now, government is at hand to help make sure that first-time job seekers will not miss the opportunity to begin a career that can make a difference for themselves and their families,” Poe said.

Under the new law, first-time job seekers can obtain for free certain government documents required by employers such as police, barangay, and NBI clearances, medical certificates from government clinics and hospitals, birth and/or marriage certificates, tax identification number (TIN) ID, transcript of records from State Universities and Colleges, and Unified Multi-Purpose ID card (UMID), among others.

The law, however, does not cover application fees for taking professional licensure examination, applying for a Philippine passport, having documents authenticated by the Department of Foreign Affairs, applying for a Career Service Examination, and applying for a driver’s license. /kga