The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has pledged support to the initiative of Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) commissioner in-charge for the National Capital Region (NCR) Reynaldo Galupo that seeks to augment the PCUP’s work force in the fulfillment of its mandate of serving the country’s marginalized and underprivileged sectors, particularly the urban poor.
Not leaving a single stone unturned in his quest to ensure success for the PCUP in its performance of serving the less fortunate members of the citizenry, the NCR commissioner met with DOLE’s Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns Executive Director Ahmma Charisma Lobrin-Satumba to discuss the possibility of availing the labor department’s Government Internship Program (GIP) and Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES).
Prior to the meeting, PCUP chairperson and chief executive officer Undersecretary Elpidio Jordan Jr. had already negotiated DOLE Workers’ Welfare and Protection Cluster Assistant Secretary Dominique Rubia-Tutay and labor employment officer Erickson Mag-isa pointers on how to expand the partnership between the two agencies and give broader access for urban poor groups to avail of livelihood and employment opportunities.
Coinciding with the celebration of the annual Urban Poor Solidarity Week (UPSW) scheduled in December in Mandaluyong City and Masbate, the PCUP and DOLE is set to sign a memorandum of agreement to strengthen its partnership in providing genuine service to the country’s marginalized and underprivileged sectors.
Meanwhile, Dir. Lobrin-Satumba explained that under the DOLE’s GIP and SPES, three to six month’s internship opportunity is provided for high school, technical-vocational or college graduates who want to pursue a career in public service in either the local or national government.
Aside from seeking availment of the GIP and SPES, Galupo likewise pushed for the implementation of TUPAD to beneficiaries who would be identified and accredited by the PCUP in order for them to be given much needed assistance in recovering from the backlash of the economic downturn brought about by the coronavirus pandemic in the past three years.
This was welcomed by Dir. Lobrin-Satumba who noted the PCUP’s capacity to identify those beneficiaries who can avail of DOLE’s community-based package of assistance that provides emergency employment for workers who have been displaced, are underemployed or under seasonal employment.
The PCUP with its new administration under the chairmanship of Jordan and in pursuit of the fulfillment of its mandate to help the urban poor, the PCUP CEO has vowed to support the poverty alleviation program of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.