DOLE, 15 other agencies ink guidelines for 1st-time jobseekers

The Department of Labor and Employment, along with 15 other signatory-agencies signed on Friday the joint operational guidelines for first time jobseekers.

At a ceremony held on May 12, 2023 at the Kingsford Hotel Manila, Parañaque City, the DOLE and 15 other agencies of the First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act Inter-Agency Monitoring Committee (FTJAA IAMC), signed the Joint Operational Guidelines (JOG) that is expected to institutionalize the procedures for all implementers and the issuance of pre-employment documents, a news release from the Labor department says.

Procedures and the issuance of documentary requirements are provided for under R.A. 11261 or the First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act, the DOLE added.

In his keynote speech, DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma underscored the importance of the FTJAA JOG in easing the financial burden of first time jobseekers.

“Isa ito sa mga pangarap namin sa Kagawaran — ang mabawasan ang pasanin ng mga ‘first time jobseeker’ sa paghahanap ng trabaho,” he said.

He likewise emphasized the importance of every member of the FTJAA IAMC, in lockstep with the DOLE.

“[K]aakibat ng DOLE sa FTJAA ang kabuuan ng Inter-Agency Monitoring Committee na binubuo ng 25 ahensiyang handang maglingkod sa ating mga kababayan,” he said.

At the signing event, Undersecretary Carmela Torres shared the collective goal of servicing all potential availees.

“It is our goal to assist the 1.2 million potential graduates annually who are seeking employment by continuously engaging with the relevant stakeholders and push forward our collaboration with other government and development partners to realize our envisioned economic transformation for a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient society,” she said.

Video messages from Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte; Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment; and Human Resources Development, and Senate Majority Floor Leader, Senator Joel Villanueva followed through.

Vice President Duterte expressed her support and congratulations to the ceremonial signing, while calling for industry partners.

“I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to our industry partners to help us bridge the gaps and ensure actual skills acquisition of every senior high school learner during work immersion,” the VP said.

For his part, Senator Estrada said, “The signing of the guidelines came at an auspicious time when we’re seeing better prospects for the country’s workers as shown in the declining unemployment rate.”

On the other hand, Senator Joel Villanueva, principal author and sponsor of the law in the Senate, expressed his joy and extended his congratulations to the IAMC, as the operational guidelines “is apt to motivate graduates to immediately seek employment as they will be exempted from fees only as first time jobseekers.”

Signatories at the event include:

• The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan John E. Uy, Civil Service
• Commission (CSC) Chairperson Karlo Alexei B. Nograles, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director-General Danilo P. Cruz, National
• Privacy Commission (NPC) Chairman John Henry D. Naga, and Public Employment Service Office Managers Association of the Philippines (PESOMAP) National President Luningning Y. Vergara. Other member-signatories in attendance are from the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of
• Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Health (DOH), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), Philippine National Police (PNP), and Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Also in attendance, completing the rest of the FTJAA IAMC, its member-witnesses were: 

• National Youth Commission (NYC) Executive Director Leah T. Villalon,
• Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC) President Tirso A. Ronquillo, and representatives from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM),
• Department of Justice (DOJ), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG), and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth),
• Representative Juan Fidel F. Nograles, Chairperson of the House of Committee on Labor and Employment also graced the event and witnessed the ceremonial signing of the FTJAA JOG

"The FTJAA has been implemented since 2019 after the enactment of the R.A. 11261. Beneficiaries are over 300,000 to date with estimated 83 million pesos of government fees waived. Among the salient features of the FTJAA JOG include the definition of a first time jobseeker, proof of eligibility and validity, reporting and monitoring mechanisms, and grievance procedures," the DOLE said. —LBG, GMA Integrated News