Angara lauds amended PESO bill seeking to help Filipinos get jobs

Senator Sonny Angara. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Senator Sonny Angara lauded on Tuesday the enactment of the amendments to the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) Act that seeks to improve and strengthen PESOs’ employment facilitation services to help more Filipinos land a job especially in poorer municipalities.

The amended PESO bill was signed into law by President Benigno Aquino III during the 15th National PESO Congress at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on Monday.

READ: Angara confident bill to help jobless Filipinos will be signed into law

“I thank our good President, our colleagues in Congress, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and House Labor Committee Chairman Rep. Karlo Nograles for the enactment of this law that would expand and strengthen the PESO network,” Angara, acting chairman of the Senate labor committee and sponsor and one of the authors of the amended PESO law, said in a statement.

He said Republic Act 10691, which amends RA 8759 or the PESO Act of 1999, aims to create and institutionalize PESOs in all provinces, municipalities, cities and other strategic areas throughout the country.

To date, the senator said, there are 1,925 PESOs all over the country and may be credited for up to 5.66 million job placements since 2010.

“This law aims to transform the PESO into a modern public employment service intermediary that provides multi-dimensional employment facilitation services. Aside from job facilitation, PESOs will provide labor market trends and information, livelihood, skills and entrepreneurship training, and other capability-building initiatives,” Angara explained.

He said the law also seeks to ensure the PESOs’ continued operation and sustainability with the control and supervision of and funding from the local government units (LGUs) and the technical support of the Department of Labor and Employment.

Under the measure, establishments and enterprises operating in a locality must submit to the concerned LGU relevant labor market information such as number and nature of jobs and projection of jobs that the establishment will offer in the next five years.

“This information from the establishments and companies will be submitted to the PESO for job matching and to educational institutions for career guidance of the students. We want a more targeted and effective processing and dissemination of labor market information down to the grassroots level,” Angara said.

Based on the July 2015 Labor Force Survey, the senator said, the unemployment rate was estimated at 6.5 percent with four regions—Central Luzon (8.8%), National Capital Region (8.2%), Ilocos Region (8.2%), and Calabarzon (8%)—registering higher unemployment rates than the national figure.

“Sa kabila ng ating malakas na ekonomiya, marami pa rin ang napag-iiwanan sa kahirapan at kawalan ng trabaho. Ang PESO ang magiging pangunahing opisina sa ilalim ng lahat ng LGU na tututok para intindihin at hanapan ng solusyon ang kawalan ng trabaho ng kanilang mga nasasakupan, para sila’y makaahon sa kahirapan at maramdaman ang ipinagmamalaking pag-unlad ng ekonomiya ng bansa,” he further said.

(In spite of our strong economy, there remains a significant number who are left with poverty and lack of jobs. PESOs will be the main office under all LGUs which will focus to understand and find solutions to the lack of jobs in their area, so people will rise from poverty and will be able to feel the progress of the country’s economy.) RAM

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