Three Pampanga mayors and Gov. Dennis Pineda entered into a memorandum of understanding with Yeongam Mayor Woo Seung-Hee to provide agricultural workers in that South Korean city on Nov. 3. | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Three Pampanga mayors signed up on Thursday for the Foreign Seasonal Workers Program of Yeongam City in the South Korean province of Jeollanam to provide farm workers there.
Mayors Oscar Tetangco Jr. of Apalit, Jose Antonio Bustos of Masantol, and Philip Naguit of Minalin towns signed the program’s memorandum of understanding with Yeongam Mayor Woo Seung-Hee, according to a statement from Gov. Dennis Pineda, who led a trade, labor, and agriculture mission in South Korea.
The mission is part of the provincial government’s efforts to recover from the economic slowdown resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Through this agreement with three local governments in Pampanga, I hope that the problem of labor shortage in Yeongam-gun will be resolved and that it will serve as a good opportunity to provide high-quality jobs to workers in Pampanga,” Woo said.
Pineda’s statement did not say how many workers were immediately needed, but the governor said the mayors guaranteed they would send skilled workers who are also proficient in the Korean language and culture. INQ