The City government is now accepting in-school and out-of school youths aged 15 to 25 years old who want to avail of the Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES).
Dumaguete City PESO Officer Socorro Mira said they are prioritizing students from public high schools who belong to families whose income does not exceed the national poverty threshold level set by the National Economic Development Authority.
“For in-school applicants, we are choosing those high school graduates who are entering college level,” said Mira in an interview with Philippine Information Agency.
SPES is mandated under Republic Act No. 9547 which aims to help poor but deserving students pursue their education by providing income or augmenting it through employment during summer.
There are 160 slots open for the SPES program in the City this year. SPES is implemented in partnership with the Department of Labor & Employment on a 60-40 counterpart scheme.
“The acceptor, which in this case is the City government, covers 60 percent of the stipend, and the 40 percent is from DOLE,” said Mira.
Each SPES beneficiary will receive P200 as a daily stipend.
The City government earlier appropriated around P384,000 as its counterpart fund for the daily stipend of each SPES beneficiary.
“Each beneficiary will get a total of P4,000 for the 20-day internship. This is a big help for the students and their parents, especially in helping cover some of the students’ tuition fees,” she said.
Mira added that although there are many youths in the City who will qualify for the program, the City government’s budget is, however, limited.
Interview and screening of applicants will end April 10. The list of accepted applicants will be posted on April 13 at the City PESO office.
The opening ceremony is scheduled on April 16 which will kick off the 20-day internship program.
SPES beneficiaries will undergo skills trainings from the City Livelihood & Home Industries Development Office in the mornings, and work in community activities such as clean-up drives in the afternoon under the supervision of the General Services Office. (RMN-PIA 7)
