Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz on Monday said local government units (LGUs) will soon institutionalize their role in providing jobs and livelihood that is not based on political affiliation or patronage but through skills available in their communities.
She said the signing of the amended Public Employment Service Office (Peso) law compels LGUs to allocate funds in profiling workforce in their communities and matching them with the needs of public and private industries.
The Peso law was an “unfunded law” in the last 15 years and the amendments will now require LGUs to operate the office with funds from the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).
“I’m looking forward to a more institutionalized Peso that is not subject to some political convenience and permanent positions specially for the Peso managers, which will mean stability and continuity in the delivery of employment facilitations services nationwide,” Baldoz said in an interview at the sidelines of the 15th Peso Congress held on Monday at the Philippine International Convention Center.
The amendment to Peso law was signed on Monday by President Aquino who was the keynote speaker at the event. Baldoz said the amended Peso law is expected to be implemented by early next year after the Department of Labor and Employment has crafted its implementing rules and regulations.
Labor Undersecretary Nicon Fameronag, in a separate interview said Peso is the government’s frontline service in providing jobs and livelihood.
There are currently 2.9 million unemployed Filipinos, many of them in rural areas.
Fameronag said Peso is crucial in providing jobs for unemployed youth in rural areas who have no access to regular online job platforms.
He said there are now 1,600 Peso offices that are fully operational but the labor department can only fund 360 of them.
The amendment to the Peso law will have full funding for Peso offices to be sourced from IRA.
He said Peso offices currently have 83-percent placement rate, which translates to 1.6 million who have found jobs out of 1.9 million who accessed Pesos.
The amendment also aims to expand the current. 19.3-percent share of PESOs as a job sourcing platform compared with private online job- sourcing sites.