LAGAWE, Ifugao- – Interested students or out of school youths who want to pursue their studies and willing to work for their school fees may now apply for the Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) 2020.
The SPES is an employment bridging program of the government through the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) during the summer or Christmas vacations that aims to augment the family income of poor but deserving students, OSYs or dependents of displaced or would be displaced workers who intend to finish their education. It is implemented by DOLE in partnership with the provincial and municipal local government units thru their respective Public Employment Service Office (PESO).
The applicant must be at least 15 years old but not more than 30 years of age. The student must have obtained at least an average passing grade during the last semester or school year attended while the OSY must be duly certified by the barangay captain of municipality or the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office where the OSY resides and that the combined net income after tax of the parents including his or her own income does not exceed the regional poverty threshold.
The regional poverty threshold for a family of six members in the Cordillera Region for 2020 as published by the Philippine Statistics Authority is P149.244.00.
For students, priority is given to those in Grades 10, 11 and 12 and to 1st to 3rd year college students.
The first batch application is from February 24-March 13, 2020 with the employment from the 4th week of April to May 2020. The second batch application is from April 1-April 15 2020 with the employment from June to July 2020.
Interested applicants must file their applications at the PESO having jurisdiction over their residence.
Under SPES, the employer shall shoulder 60% of the beneficiaries’ minimum wage or hiring rate while the remaining 40% is paid by the DOLE. SPES beneficiaries are entitled to an insurance coverage for a period of one year.
DOLE- Ifugao Senior Labor and Employment Officer Isabelita Codamon informed that their office has budget of P2, 930,421.46 as their counterpart for SPES for 2020. This is a little higher than its P2,909,081.00 budget in 2019 where 820 were hired as beneficiaries by 12 employers composed of the 11 municipalities of Fugato and the provincial government.
She advised the partner employers to observe the applicable hiring rate in accordance with the fourth tranche of compensation adjustment. **JDP/DBC-PIA CAR, Ifugao
