Wanted: Students, dropouts

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Some 200,000 students and out-of-school youth will be given summer jobs this year under the Special Program for the Employment of Students, or SPES, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

“Our 2014 SPES budget of P500 million given by Congress has been rolled out,” said Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

She said the program aims to help poor but deserving students pursue their education by encouraging the employment of those in high school during summer and Christmas vacation, and those in the college, technical or vocational level at any time of the year.

Under SPES, DOLE would pay 40 percent of the salaries of the students. The rest would come from their employers—government agencies, private companies or other sponsor institutions.

To be eligible for the program, students and out-of-school youth should be between 15 and 25 years old; the combined net income of their parents should not exceed the latest annual regional poverty threshold level for a family of six; and they must have an average passing grade in the last school term attended.

Qualified out-of-school youth must submit the following: SPES application form, birth certificate, latest income tax return of parents or BIR certification that parents are exempted from paying tax, and certificate of good moral character issued by a barangay (village) official.—Tina G. Santos