Pagadian City - The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Zamboanga del Sur Field Office (DOLE-ZDSFO) through its program, Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) simultaneously turned over checks in the amount of P5,159,748.00 for 2,063 beneficiaries in the province of Zamboanga del Sur.

Among the top partners in the program implementation wereSaint Columban College (SCC) who recently received P885, 780.00 for its 259 SPES grantees last October 20, 2016; Southern Mindanao Colleges (SMC) and Pagadian Institute of Technology (PIT) who received P855,780.00 and P529,984.00, for 259 and 169 grantees, respectively, a turn over held last August 19, 2016 in the presence of the twenty-one (21) other implementing partners in the private and public sectors. Meanwhile, there are still 22 more program partners expecting to fully utilize their pledges by the end of December 2016.

DOLE 9 Regional Director Sisinio B. Cano personally handed over SPES checks to one of the PESO Managers who are implementing the said program. Dir. Cano turned over P60, 000 worth of SPES checks to 40 SPES grantees of Dumalinao National High School.

In one of the undertakings, DOLE - ZDSFO Head, Mr. Camilo A. Encila also turned over SPES checks in the amount of P529, 984 to 169 grantees of Pagadian Institute of Technology, Inc. (PIT). PESO Manager Larine L. Servado received the said checks.

The Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) is mandated and strengthened by the Republic Act No. 9547 which aims to help poor but deserving students to pursue their education by providing or augmenting their income through employment at any time of the year.

In this provision, any person or entity employing at least ten (10) persons may employ poor but deserving students fifteen (15) years of age but not more than twenty-five (25) years old, whose parents' combined income does not exceed the annual regional poverty threshold level for a family, paying them salary or wage not lower than the minimum wage for private employers and the applicable hiring rate for the national and local government agencies. Their period of employment shall be from twenty (20) to fifty-two (52) working days only. Provided in the act, students employed in activities related to their course may earn equivalent academic credits as may be determined by the appropriate government agencies.

Princess Darquiza M. Akmad

DOLE ZDSFO