A TOTAL of 144 beneficiaries of Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) of Iloilo City Government received their salary recently.

Mayor Jose Espinosa III gave the salary to recipients, which was equivalent to P323.50 daily for 20 to 30 days.

“The advice I would like to give is that you should enjoy while working because when you enjoy your work, you will be more happy doing what you are doing,” Espinosa said.

The city government paid for the 60 percent of the salary and 40 percent came from the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole). The SPES, through the Public Employment Service Office (Peso), aimed to employ indigent students aged 15 to 30 years old during summer.

Peso head Ma. Elena Benitez said the working students were assigned at various departments and offices of City Hall.

“The mission and vision of this program is to help the beneficiaries finish their studies because the City Government understands that there are those parents who have hard time paying for their children’s requirements. So, we hope to see these students get their diploma and also help their parents and siblings,” Benitez said.

“There were those who worked for 30 days. They have been working under SPES since they were 15 years old,” she noted.

Benitez said there were a total of 154 students, however, 10 of them are still processing the documents for the release of their salary.

Marla Aleckzandrew Vargas, 17, Grade 12 student at the Iloilo Science and Technology University, said she enjoyed her work as SPES beneficiary and that she was able to further develop her skills. “It was fun and I got to enhance my skills in writing speeches and news since I was assigned at the Public Information Office,” Vargas said. Vargas added she will use her salary to pay for her books and buy school supplies. (PR)