LGU scholarship lessen SPES enrollees, say

Summer Job token - DOLE local manager Cristina Constantino-Lapaz and Admin Asst. II  Josie Casiple (right) distribute SPES shirts for souvenir to 77 student-recipients of LGU-DOLE’s Special Program for Employment of Students in Malungon, Sarangani Province. (Isagani Palma-MALUNGON INFORMATION OFFICE/ Come and enjoy SarBay Fest in Gumasa on May 24-25, 2013).

SPES babies – Each recipient to the local government and DOLE’s Special Program for Employment of Students, receive a souvenir SPES shirt from (L-R) Admin Asst. Josie Casiple and DOLE local manager Cristina Constantino-Lapaz, days before their last day of work on Tuesday (May 28, 2013) in Malungon, Sarangani Province. (Isagani Palma-MALUNGON INFORMATION OFFICE/ Come and enjoy SarBay Fest in Gumasa on May 24-25, 2013).

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MALUNGON, Sarangani – Another batch of poor but deserving students have availed of summer job opportunities from the local government under the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) here in this municipality.

Cristina Constantino-Lapaz, the local DOLE manager and Mayor Reynaldo F. Constantino’s chief of staff said this year’s summer job program (covering the period of April 15-28 May) benefited at least 77 students.

“Despite of the slight drop in the number of recipients as compared to the over 90 student-beneficiaries in CY-2012, the local government belive that the DOLE partnership have able to extend the much needed assistance in  addressing the need for work of students in the municipality,” Lapaz said.

        

The Special Program for Employment of Students, as mandated under Republic Act No. 7323, aims to help poor but deserving students pursue their studies by encouraging their employment during summer and or Christmas vacations, through incentives granted to employers, allowing them to pay only sixty per centum of their salaries or wages and the forty per centum through education vouchers to be paid by the government , prohibiting and penalizing the filing of fraudulent and fictitious claims, and for other purposes.”

“Administered by DOLE, the SPES serves as a bridging employment program of the local government for the employment of students. It aims to assist poor but deserving students, specifically in the secondary and tertiary level to earn in preparation for the next school year,” Lapaz explained.       

                

Admin Asst. II Josie Casiple said record shows that from 46 student-recipients in the past years, the number of SPES beneficiaries had begun to rise following the assumption into office by Constantino in 2007.

          

“From 80 students in 2007, our summer job recipients rose to 90 last year. However, many believe that the decrease in the number of SPES enrollees the current year, could be a positive result of the consistent and dependable educational and scholarship programs of the local government unit.”   

Information disclose that as of last year, the local government had been already allocating more or less P5M to over 516 educational scholars who are studying at the tertiary level in various colleges and universities in the cities of Cebu, Davao and General Santos. (Isagani Palma-MALUNGON INFORMATION OFFICE).