South Cotabato, Koronadal City – The provincial government of South Cotabato through the Public Employment and Service Office (PESO) accepted over 900 applicants for the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) in the province for 2023.
Over 900 slots for SPES 2023 were distributed among the various municipalities in the province with 20 slots per municipality, and the remaining slots allotted for the Province’s Capital – City of Koronadal as it holds a greater number of population.
The program is composed of two implementations: the year-round implementation, and the summer implementation.
Flora G. Cavan, Labor and Employment Officer I of PESO SoCot expressed that a total of 311 students and OSY’s applied for the year-round implementation while 624 students and OSY’s applied for the summer implementation.
The first batch for the year-round implementation began last March 20 until May 22, while the second batch began last March 27 until May 29. The first batch of the summer implementation began last June 27 and lasted until July 28, while the second batch began last July 19 and will last until August 18 of the same year.
Cavan also added that PESO South Cotabato allotted over PHP7.9 million budget for the 935 beneficiaries for both the year-round and summer implementation of the SPES 2023.
The beneficiaries enjoy a daily wage of PHP568.95/day with beneficiaries for the year-round implementation being covered fully (100%) by the Provincial Government, and the beneficiaries for the summer implementation being covered partially (60%) by the Provincial government and (40%) from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
Furthermore, aside from new applicants, Cavan stated that old beneficiaries of the SPES may still re-apply for the program.
“…Isa sa mga priority ang mga old beneficiaries, kay makita ta ang impact … kag hindi na kita mabudlayan sa pag-tudlo sa mga bata kag sa para hindi man sila mabudlayan sa mga opisina… paagi diri makabalo na gid sila kung paano mag trabaho gid…” – PESO South Cotabato’s Flora G. Cavan, said in an interview.
In addition, Cavan stated that the next application for the SPES Program will tentatively start on January until February 2024, however the schedule might still change due unforeseen circumstances.
The Special Program for the Employment of Students is an annual program by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in conjunction with various PGU’s and LGU’s in the country. Beneficiaries of SPES include out-of-school youth and financially challenged college students. The program aims to provide temporary employment to the beneficiaries to augment their family’s income.
