THE Cebu City Government will hire more than a thousand underprivileged students this summer so they can have money for enrolment next school year.
Department of Manpower Development and Placement (DMDP) chief Susan Ardosa told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday they will hire 1,250 students for the Special Program for Employment of Students (Spes).
This is higher compared to the 150 students that the City hired last year.
In an interview yesterday, Ardosa said the City will accommodate more students this year because the City Council approved the P5-million budget that they proposed for Spes.
Then DMDP chief Fidel Magno said only 150 students were hired last year since the legislative body only allotted P600,000 for the summer job program.
According to Ardosa, DMDP has started accepting applications for Spes last month, after the City’s celebration of its 77th Charter Day.
Ardosa said Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella and all the 17 councilors can now endorse students to be hired under Spes.
Of the total number of students targeted to benefit from the program, Ardosa said 20 percent can be hired by Mayor Michael Rama, another 20 percent for Labella and the remaining 60 percent will be divided among the councilors.
Last year, the hiring of Spes beneficiaries was only handled by the Office of the Mayor due to the small number of students being hired.
P327 a day
This year’s summer job program, Ardosa said, will start on April 6 and will run for 20 days. Those who will be accepted will be paid P327 a day.
Those who want to apply should only have to submit to DMDP their biodata, Spes application, barangay certification, barangay endorsement and income tax return of their parents to see if the family of the applicant is below the povertly line.
The City is implementing Spes to comply with Republic Act 7323, which seeks to help students gain workplace experience and earn money that they can use for enrollment.
Students, aged from 18 to 24 years old, can avail themselves of the Spes benefits, provided they were enrolled in the school term immediately before the summer break.
Out-of-school youths can also get a job under the Spes if they pledge to enroll in the following school term. (PDF)