Jinggoy hails enactment of strengthened PESO system

Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada hailed today the enactment of a broader network of the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) to better facilitate and manage the employment of Filipino manpower.

Republic Act 10691 updates the PESO Act of 1999 (RA 8759) and defines the role of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the local government units and non-government organizations in establishment and operation of the PESO.

RA 10691, the consolidated version of Senate Bill 1386 and House Bill 4275, was signed by President Aquino last Tuesday during the 15th National PESO Congress.

Sen. Estrada, the principal author of the law, says that the enhanced PESO Act will pave the way for a more systematic and grassroots approach to employment administration toward effective reduction of joblessness and poverty.

"We hope that the PESO, with enhanced capacity and clearer mandate and systems, will assist more out-of-work Pinoys and further ease unemployment rate in the country," Jinggoy said, as he noted that the PESO's budgetary requirement for the past years has been largely unsubstantiated.

RA 10691 provides that the PESOs be established in all provinces, cities and municipalities, which previously were only set up in key cities, capital towns and strategic areas.

The PESOs will be operated, maintained and funded by the local government units, and will be linked to the central and regional offices of the DOLE for coordination and technical supervision to constitute the national public employment service network.

The PESO will also serve as an essential link between the jobseekers and the employers and a labor market information infrastructure. The act states: "[P]ersons who are seeking employment, particularly the unemployed, shall register at the PESO for employment facilitation assistance. The establishment, on the other hand, shall submit their job vacancies as well as applicants hired to the PESO to ensure the availability of accurate information on supply and demand for skills in the labor market."

Further, the LGU shall establish a monitoring system wherein establishments operating in the locality shall report present number and nature of jobs and the projection of jobs that the establishment will provide or offer in the next five years.

The information will then be submitted to the PESO for job matching and to educational institutions for career guidance of the students.

The amended PESO Act is one of DOLE's priority labor measures for the 16th Congress.