BLE bags First Place in 10th Labor Statistics QuizFront-runners, Labor and Employment Officer III Jerome Gacula and Statistician II Rio Fe Del Valle of the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) stole the 10th Labor Statistics Quiz (LSQ) title from their competitors coming from the Bureaus, Services, Attached Agencies, and Regional Offices of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) held at the Ople Hall, DOLE Executive Bldg., Intramuros, Manila last 17 October 2012.

Senators Estrada and Guingona grace 12th National PESO CongressAttended by more than 600 Public Employment Service Office (PESO) Managers, staff, and DOLE officials across the country, the National PESO Congress was held on 10-13 October 2012 at the Baguio Country Club, Baguio City. It focused on the theme: “Tugon ng PESO: Wastong Trabaho at Agarang Serbisyo”.

10th Labor Statistics Quiz Champions: Mr. Jerome Gacula and Ms. Rio Fe Del Valle.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada with Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, Director Criselda Sy, PESOPhil President Beth Alonzo, ESPMD Chief Ms. Evelyn Dacumos, and the BLE staff.

The LSQ is an annual quiz competition organized by the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES). It started in 2003 and is anchored in the celebration of the yearly National Statistics Month (NSM) commemorated during the month of October. This year marks the 23rd NSM with the theme: “Monitoring Progress on Decent Work Through Statistics: Pathway to Inclusive Growth”.

It was a flawless yet breath-taking win as the duo lead the score boards as early as the start of the elimination round. Managing to carry on throughout the round with a huge lead, the pair swiftly advanced to the finals together with the participants from the Bureau of Labor Relations (BLR) who won 2nd place, National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) for 3rd place, Human Resource Development Service (HRDS) and Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) as 4th and 5th placers.

In her opening message, DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz advocated the goal of the government to ensure decent work and efficient facilitation of employment services to the grassroots level. She also cited the country’s recent improvements on rankings and surveys on global competitiveness in terms of human resources.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Employment and Human Resources, Senator Jinggoy Estrada and committee member Senator Teofisto Guingona III graced the event.

Meanwhile, PESOPhil Inc. President Elizabeth Alonzo promoted to her colleagues the importance of the institutionalization of all the PESOs nationwide during her speech, as it is the only means of securing the tenure of office PESO Managers. As of this date, there are 1,378 LGU-based PESOs, and only 132 are institutionalized.

““Employment is related to economic growth; without employment economy stops. It is important to prepare ourselves and the young ones for they will be the next generation.”

– Senator Teofisto Guingona III

Senator Teofisto Guingona III expressed his appreciation of DOLE’s continuing efforts to improve the competitiveness of our human resources in his speech. As an example, he mentioned the employment counselors who help students in career development. He longs that one day there will be no OFWs since these Filipinos are abroad not because they want to, but because they have to.

PAPRA, Inc. holds Consultation and Induction of Officers and Board of Directors

Layout Artists:Mr. Michael MaghariMs. Joyce PagalilawanMs. Jasper Joy Bayog

Contributing Writers: Ms. Sharie Anne AtieMs. Cheryl LacernaMs. Carol PunoMr. Paul Cabatic

Editorial Board:Director Maria Criselda SyMs. Ruth RodriguezMs. Jasper Joy Bayog

December ActivitiesBLE 30th Anniversary @ Traders HotelBLE Team Building @ Caliraya, LagunaTree Planting Activity @ Antipolo, Rizal

Good practices of the PESO on selected categories with regard to their exemplary performances were showcased on the first day. The Congress also featured foreign and local experts that lead the sessions that focused on three areas of interest such as Labor Market Trends and Policies, Full Cycle Employment Facilitation System, Career Advocacy Programs and Development on selected industries in the country.

2011 Best PESO Award Winners.

The newly-organized Philippine Association of Private Recruitment and Placement Agencies Incorporated (PAPRA, Inc.) held their consultation on the proposed amendments of the Private Recruitment and Placement Agency (PRPA) rules, orientation on the Manual of Procedures in Handling Complaints on Trafficking in Persons, Illegal Recruitment and Child Labor, and the Induction of Officers and Board of Directors at the Pan Pacific Hotel on 29 November 2012.

PAPRA, Inc. Officers and Board of Directors with Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, ESPRD Chief Jose Sandoval and staff.

Forty agency owners that cater to industry workers for local employment participated in the event. DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, Director Alan Macaraya of DOLE-NCR, along with PAPRA, Inc. President Mischaelle Josanne Ruiz and Secretary Atty. Wilson Tee signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between DOLE and PAPRA, Inc.

The activity was a great opportunity for the agency owners to raise their concerns on the proposed amendments to the PRPA rules. Ms. Geraldine Labayani, Senior Labor and Employment Officer discussed the salient points of the Manual of Procedures in Handling Complaints on Trafficking, while Ms. Jocelyn Pick of People’s Dynamic, a PAPRA member, tackled the Principles of Matching People to Jobs which is very helpful to the agency owners. In her keynote message, Secretary Baldoz gave emphasis on the assistance that DOLE can provide to the association such as capacity building and regular conduct of forum. She expressed that DOLE is now shifting from the regulatory stance to a collaborative and partnership approach in addressing the concerns of the workers and the jobseekers. In response, Ms. Ruiz vowed to support the DOLE in facilitating decent employment and to come up with a Code of Good Industry Practices that will guide the association in policing their ranks.In the course of this event, the DOLE has developed strong linkages and cooperation with PAPRA, Inc., to be partners in the facilitation of quality employment locally and the elimination of illegal recruitment, trafficking in persons and child labor.

On the 2011 Best PESO Awards Night which was held on the second day of the Congress, a special citation was also given to Mr. Dominador Sayre of PESO San Fernando, Pampanga for being a recipient of the PAG-ASA Award given by the Civil Service Commission.

The annual event which was spearheaded by DOLE in coordination with PESO Phil Inc., and hosted by DOLE-CAR and PESO-CAR, became a venue for PESOs all over the country to share information, ideas and best practices that will ultimately benefit their respective communities.

BLE pushes for NSRS and for PhilJobNet decommissioningThe 2nd National Skills Registry System (NSRS) National Assessment and Validation Exercises for the Visayas and Mindanao Clusters were held in Cebu City on 26-28 September 2012, and in Batangas City for the Luzon Cluster on 17-19 October 2012. The bi-annual activity has become a venue for the NSRS National and Regional Technical Committees to agree on strategic ways of guaranteeing the liveness of the skills registry through an improved Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E) System.

Said exercises produced three (3) significant outputs: (1) the Evaluation Report that indicates the general timetable of activities for 2013; (2) the Revised Field Operations Manual with the enhanced NSRS Offline Software; and (3) the development of the Pre-provincial and Provincial Assessment and Validation Exercises as an additional M & E layer.These outputs coupled with the impending decommissioning of the old Phil-JobNet System on March 2013, will give way to the newly enhanced Phil-JobNet System that now houses the NSRS database, further promoting the project to its counterpart LGUs—thus, assuring that individuals who are actively searching for employment will be subsequently referred to gainful and decent job opportunities.