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From fish buckets to booksDOLE saves fisherfolk’s son from child labor with ‘Bangkang Pangkabuhayan’

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SAVING A SON AGAINST CHILD LABOR. Amado Guevarra (3rd from left) now sees a bright future for his son, Abet (2nd from left) as he receives a P65,000 check from Orani Mayor Benjie Serrano (2nd from right) and DOLE Regional Office No. 3 Director Raymundo Agravante (1st from right).

kilometers northwest of Manila is the municipality of Orani, Bataan. Sitting placidly along the coastal area of the town is

the ‘barong-barong’ where Abet Guevarra, an 11-year old son of a fisherfolk--a bangkero--resides.

Embracing tough luck at his own risk, Abet trudges every morning to the filthy and perilous grounds of Orani’s Pantalan Bago fish port to ply the only trade he knew–carrying big basins of fish as a young “banyero”.

At an early age, his was the daunting task of defying the dangers of such a workplace just to help his parents eke out a living.

Being exposed to child labor has been the pitiful reality of Abet’s life. But by a stroke of good fate, the Department of Labor and Employment has saved him from hazardous work through the ‘Bangkang Pangkabuhayan’, a livelihood grant of the DOLE to Abet’s family.

DOLE Regional Office No. 3 Director Raymundo Agravante, together with Orani Mayor Benjie Serrano, personally handed over to Reynaldo and Abet the DOLE’s livelihood assistance, a motorized fishing boat worth P65,000.00.

The DOLE, aware that many families require their children to work at an early age to supplement family income, has conceived the ‘Bangkang Pangkabuhayan’ as an intervention intended for informal sector workers, like Abet’s family, to increase their daily income out of fishing so they will not send their children to work. The assistance is part of the Department’s scaled-up Campaign for Child-Labor Free Barangays which seeks to declare 89 barangays in 16 regions of the country child-labor free this year.

With a very firm resolve to lick the child labor menace in the country, Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz had expressed the DOLE’s strong determination to ‘liberate’ child labor victims, as well as their families, to achieve its goal of making barangays with high incidence of child labor free from the menace.

“We at the DOLE reiterate our pledge to do our utmost in saving child labor victims and in making every barangay in the country with high child labor incidence child labor-free. In carrying out this resolve, we will take it one child, one barangay at a time. We will meet the challenge head-on,” Baldoz said.

From school to fish portAt the age of two, Abet had spent his

childhood days seeing off his father set out to sea, always hoping for a good catch every day. His father, Reynaldo, does not own a fishing boat. Like the other fishermen in the town, he rents a boat from a boat owner with a part of his catch. As the fifth among eight siblings, he already realized, as he grew up, this pitiful plight which forced him

to help his father instead of attending school.Nevertheless, the young banyero still believed that education

is the key to improve his chances in life and alleviate his family’s abject condition. As the only one in the family to attend formal schooling, Abet managed to juggle his ‘trade’ in the fish port with his daily education.

But due to the family’s deprived situation, the bangkero’s son, despite being 11 years old, was still in Grade 2 at the Orani North Elementary School. He had to intermittently stop schooling and sacrifice his education just to make both ends meet for his family.

Fishing as a solutionLast 19 April, the DOLE Bataan Provincial Field Office,

in coordination with the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) and the Orani Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO), conducted a spot check to assess the needs of Abet’s family and to determine the suitable DOLE assistance for the Guevarras.

The DOLE found out that the meager, daily income of Abet’s father is still divided into five parts, two parts of which is given to the boat’s owner while the balance is equally distributed among the fishermen who uses the boat. This unequal sharing only allows Abet’s father to take home a measly P100 in income

DOLE Good News

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The DOLE Good News is published by the Department of Labor and Employment, with editorial office at the Labor Communications Office, 6th Floor, DOLE Building, Intramuros, Manila. The views expressed herein are those of the writers and/or their sources and do not necessarily reflect those of the DOLE’s or the Philippine Government’s.

EditorNICON F. FAMERONAG

Director, LCO

Associate EditorKAREN R. SERRANO

Staff WritersJOSE C. DE LEON

MARK JAIME L. CERDENIAMA. VERONICA R. ALMAZORA

CELESTE T. MARINGHAZEL JOY T. GALAMAY

REVELITA F. LAXINA

Editorial AssistantsGIRLIE MARLYN E. ARCEMADELYN D. DOMETITA

Graphic ArtistGREGORIO I. GALMAN

PhotographerJOMAR S. LAGMAY

Circulation ManagerGIRLIE MARLYN E. ARCE

Contributing Regional Writers

GENEVIEVE S. TATAD - NCRGEORGE LUBIN, JR. - CAR

JERIDEE C. ORATE - Region 1REGINALD B. ESTIOCO - Region 2JEREMIAH M. BORJA - Region 3

DULCE AMOR L. LEDESMA - Region 4A ANDREA JOY AGUTAYA - Region 4BRAYMOND P. ESCALANTE - Region 5

AMALIA N. JUDICPA - Region 6EFREN O. VITO - Region 7

VIRGILIO A. DOROJA, JR. - Region 8JAZMIN O. CINCO - Region 9

MILDRED E. DABLIO - Region 10JOCELYN C. FLORDELIS - Region 11

CHARMAINE DAWN L. SONSONA - Region 12FRANCIS Y. NAZARIO - Caraga

� June 2012

am very happy I am going home now. I would like to thank the POLO-OWWA for

taking care of us in the Center.”This was the gratified expression

of Myrna Bakar, a household service worker (HSW) who sought refuge at the Filipino Workers Resource Center (FWRC) in Al-Jabriya, Kuwait, after she escaped from an ordeal, the physical abuse of her employer’s son.

Myrna was one of 70 distressed HSWs housed at the FWRC who were repatriated by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Kuwait in time for the Philippine Independence Day last 12 June.

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz lauded the feat of POLO–Kuwait, which effectively trimmed down the number of remaining HSW wards to 90 as of June this year.

“This is the first time that the number of HSW wards in the FWRC decreased down to less than a hundred, from a high of over 500 on the average during the last 10 years. Such achievement is commendable,” Baldoz said.

“With the mass repatriation, we have brought freedom to the distressed HSWs.

Baldoz lauds POLO Kuwait in fast-tracking OFW repatriation; 70 HSWs back in the country

This is good news. We shall continue our concerted efforts to fast-track the settlement of cases and the repatriation of our OFWs to declog the FWRCs of distressed workers,” she added.

In a report to the labor and employment chief, Philippine Labor Attache to Kuwait David Des Dicang said the decline in the number of HSW wards at the center assures distressed domestic workers that the government is doing its best to enhance their welfare, safety, and protection.

“Our joint efforts with the Philippine Embassy and Kuwaiti authorities are paying off,” Dicang said, as he emphasized the POLO’s strengthened collaboration with Kuwaiti authorities in facilitating the resolution of cases of OFWs and their fast repatriation.

Dicang attributed the decrease in the number of wards to the strict implementation of POLO rules involving manpower recruitment agencies in Kuwait, which resulted to the smooth and speedy resolution of cases involving distressed HSWs.

“POLO-Kuwait has established a close working relationship even with the manpower recruitment agencies, which have been cooperative in speeding up

the settlement process,” Dicang said.Majority of the distressed HWSs

housed at the FWRC in Jabriya were victims of various forms of maltreatment, such as fatigue due to over-work, non-payment of salaries, physical and/or verbal abuse, and sexual harassment.

The Kuwaiti government, through the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, shouldered the 50 air tickets of the HSWs. The rest were borne by the manpower agencies that recruited the wards.

The Kuwaiti government also extended assistance in expediting the issuance of travel documents (exit permits) of the HSWs.

Dicang said the remaining wards were already endorsed to the Talha Deportation Center for the processing of their clearances.

As more FWRCs are transformed into centers of care and service for OFWs, Baldoz reiterated her call to the POLOs to strengthen their best practices, such as establishing rapport with licensed overseas employment providers, and to intensify their networking and coordination with government offices of host countries to fast track the repatriation of OFWs.

“I

DOLE Good News

�June 2012

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Rynal Borjal is an avid radio fan. For him, listening to the radio was no ordinary leisure. It was through

the airwaves of the transistor that he gets the news. It was by listening to the radio that he came closer to a better life.

The 18-year old native of Cormidal, Tabaco City, in Albay, has been a devoted follower of Bahay to Business in Bicol, or B2B, the DOLE Regional Office No. 5’s school-on-the-air program.

B2B is aired over DWAS-AM One Radio every Wednesday and Thursday, from 11:00 A.M. to 12:00 N.N., with Cecille T. Amok, DWAS program manager, and Raymond Escalante, Labor Communiciations Officer, as hosts.

It dispenses important livelihood advice and training information to listeners. In July, Borjal was one of seven lucky followers of the radio program to receive a Negosyo sa Kariton, or Nego-Kart, the DOLE assistance designed to help alleviate the plight of low-income informal sector workers.

The Nego-Kart Project’s primary beneficiaries are mobile vendors who ply their trade in goods and services in sidewalks, buses and jeepney terminals, community markets, and other public places without the necessary business permits.

The B2B started as an experimental live radio training tutorial of the regional office, which partnered with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the San Francisco Institute of Science and Technology to reach out to more Bicolanos.

The school-on-the-air program aims to educate the Bicolano youth who could not afford formal schooling, and capacitate individuals with small, yet

In Bicol, DOLE’s school-on-the-air brings livelihood to avid radio fans

viable, livelihood businesses to help them improve their economic conditions.

According to Regional Director Nathaniel Lacambra, the tutorial module includes training listeners in technical and simple business skills.

“The TESDA provides the training while the DOLE provides the business tools and equipment. The radio station, DWAS, aside from airing the program, handles the screening of the listeners to be given the start-up Nego-Kart. It also co-monitors the progress of the beneficiaries’ businesses,” Lacambra explained.

Like Rynal Borjal, the six other Albayanon beneficiaries of the school-on-the-air program each received a completely furbished cart worth P10,496.64, with a stove, LPG tank, glass display panel, kitchen ware, and other utensils that they need in their mobile vending business.

Aside from the cart, each also received P4,000 as start-up capital for the purchase of ingredients and other raw materials.

“Thank you po sa DOLE sa Nego-Kart,” said Borjal. “Malaking tulong po ito sa pagsisimula ko sa natutunan kong pagtitinda ng peanuts at fish ball mula sa programa ng DOLE sa radyo.”

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz has commended the regional office in Bicol for the innovative school-on-the-air training program.

“The power of the radio as a communication medium has not diminished. The B2B may not have much to entertain its listeners with, but it serves a meaningful purpose, that of teaching and training listeners on alternative sources of income and livelihood,” she said.

TURNING AIRWAVES INTO LIVELIHOOD. The Bahay to Business in Bicol (B2B) school-on-the-air program goes beyond educating listeners with entrepreneurial activities as the DOLE Regional Office No. 5 awards completely furbished Nego-Karts to its listener-beneficiaries.

DOLE saves . . . from page 1

despite his hard work. This, plus the monthly P2,500 her mother, Edna, earns from doing the laundry for other people was barely enough to support the daily needs of Abet’s large family.

Based on this assessment, the DOLE decided to provide Reynaldo a fishing boat of his own.

SavedReynaldo was almost speechless

when he received his new motorized fishing boat. This, he said, will enable him to increase his income by up to 75 percent of his former earnings.

“I can send Abet back to school,” he said, adding:

“Maraming salamat po sa DOLE, kay Kalihim Baldoz. Asahan po ninyo na pagyayamanin namin po itong Bangkang Pangakabuhayan na ipinagkaloob po ninyo sa amin.”

For Abet, their new boat was life-changing. From hauling off big fish buckets, he is now lugging a bagful of books to school, and will no longer gamble his day at the fish port. He felt “saved” and said he will focus on his studies and shy away from such hazardous work as hauling fish buckets..

DOLE Good News

� June 2012

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said the DOLE is participating

in the country’s celebration of World Day Against Child Labor with “a very determined” resolve to make every barangay of the country’s over 1,500 municipalities child labor-free to achieve the country’s goal of reducing by 75 percent all worst forms of child labor by 2015, which is anchored on the millennium development goals of achieving universal education (MDG2), which is contingent on freedom from labor to allow children to attend school and perform well.

“As we celebrate World Day Against Child Labor in the Philippines, we at the DOLE reiterate our pledge to do our utmost in making every barangay in the country with high child labor incidence child labor-free. In carrying out this resolve, we will take it one barangay at a time. We will meet the challenge head-on,” Baldoz said.

Baldoz issued the statement during the launching of the Batang Malaya, the National Child Labor Committee’s new and scaled up campaign for a child labor-free Philippines at the Frontera Verde,Pasig City, which was highlighted by the release of the National Statistics

Office of the results of its 2011 Survey on Children.

The survey, conducted with the support of the International Labor Organization (ILO), is the first survey that utilized the ILO framework for statistical identification of working children, or children in employment, child labor, and hazardous child labor.

The preliminary results of the survey showed there are 5.492 million working children 5-17 years old as of October 2011.

Of this number, more than one-half, or 55.1 percent, or 3.028 million, were counted as child labor and 2.993 million (54.5 percent) reported to be exposed to hazardous child labor.

Under the law, child labor is defined as any work or economic activity performed by a child that subjects him/her to any form of exploitation, or is harmful to his/her health and safety or physical, mental, or psycho-social development.

On the other hand, hazardous child labor refers to employment in industries and occupations designated as hazardous under the country’s OSH standards.

Baldoz welcomed the results of the survey, saying it will provide the

government a more accurate and more comprehensive picture of the child labor situation in the country which the previous 1995 and 2001 surveys did not.

For instance, she cited one finding of the survey which showed that of the total number of child labor, 69.5 percent, or 2.106 million, are attending school.

“Retention in school of the 69.5 percent of the child laborers and bringing back to school the 30.5 percent require a very focused and serious effort,” Baldoz said.

She hastened to explain, though, that the 2011Survey on Children, which is a rider survey to the NSO’s October 2011 Labor Force Survey, does not capture other worst forms of child labor as defined under ILO Convention 182 and as adopted by R.A. 9231, otherwise known as An Act Providing for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor and Affording Stronger Protection for the Working Child.

These worst forms of child labor include all forms of slavery, e.g., trafficking, recruitment for armed conflict; prostitution and pornography; and illicit activities, e.g., drug trafficking.

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One barangay at a time, says Baldoz

On World Day Against Child Labor rites, DOLE vows firm resolve to make barangays child labor-free

BATANG MALAYA LAUNCH. Labor and Employment Secretary and National Child Labor Committee Chairperson Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz (2nd from left), International Labor Organization (ILO) Philippines Country Office Director Lawrence Jeff Johnson, National Statistics Office (NSO) Administrator Carmelita Ericta, US Embassy Political Officer Pamela Pontius, and other officials watch children sing and dance during the launching of the Batang Malaya Child Labor-Free Philippines Campaign in celebration of World Day Against Child Labor held in June at the Fun Ranch, Tiendesitas, in Pasig City.

DOLE Good News

�June 2012

National Capital Region (NCR): Barangays Camarin in Caloocan City; Talon in Las Piñas City; Hulo in Mandaluyong City; 410 in Sampaloc in Manila; 194 Villamor Airbase in Pasay City; and Pasong Putik in Quezon City;

Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR): Barangays Gawang in Balbalan, Kalinga; Mabaay, Pides, Aguid, and Fidelisan in Bauko, Mountain Province; Azcko in Baguio City; and Lengaoan in Buguias, Benguet;

Region 1: Barangays Pinadangan West in Alcala, Pangasinan; Sinapangan Sur in Balaoan, La Union; Banuar in San Juan, Ilocos Sur; and Valbuena and Calboraon in Pinili, Ilocos Norte;

Region 2: Barangays Sto. Domingo in Piat; Sampaguita in Solana; San Vicente, Bugnay and Fugu in Tuao, Cagayan;

Region 3: Barangays Sisiman in Mariveles, Bataan; Taal in Bocaue, Bulacan; San Jose in Dipaculao, Aurora; Pandacaqui in Mexico, Pampanga; and Central in San Miguel, Tarlac;

Region 4-A: Barangays San Rafael in Rodriguez and Sta. Ines in Tanay, Rizal; Barangay 48 in Cavite City; Dau in Tuy, Batangas and Barangay 7 in Catanuan, Quezon;

Region 4-B: Barangays Poblacion in Mansalay; Poblacion in Bulalacao; and Sabang White Beach in Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro; Ambulong and Dulangan in Magdiwang, Romblon; and Tayamaan in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro.

Region 5: Barangays Bagumbayan, Bapor, Nursery, Pating and Tugbo in Masbate City, Masbate.

89 barangays targeted as child labor-free in 2012

Region 6: Barangays Jonob-Jonob and Balinatawak in Escalanate City and Antipolo in Pontevedra, Negros Occidental; Alfonso XII in Libacao and Mamba in Madalag, Aklan;

Region 7: Barangays Adlaon in Cebu City and Kayang in Bogo, Cebu; Cangguhob in Mabinay and Azagra and Manlingay in Tanjay City, Negros Oriental;

Region 8: Barangays Ipil-Ipil and Cawayan in Catarman; Eco in Mondragon; Little Venice in Laoang; and Dapdap in Las Navas, Northern Samar;

Region 9: Barangays Bulatoc in Pagadian City, Zambonga del Sur; Baybay in Liloy, Zambonga del Norte; Sta. Cruz in Diplahan, Lumbangan in Zambonga City and Lumbang in Isabela City, Zamboanga Sibugay.

Region 10: Barangays Butong and Pulung Buhangin in Sta. Maria; Salawagan, San Jose, Menangiran, and Poblacion in Quezon, Bukidnon;

Region 11: Barangays Kibuaya in Hagonoy; Pasig in Kiblawan; 5-A (Poblacion), Bankerohan, Matina Pangi, and New Carmen in Davao City, Davao del Sur.

Region 12: Barangays Malire and Cadungon in Antipas; Saguing in Makilala; Presbitero in Pigkawayan, North Cotabato; Kematu in T’boli; and Lagao, San Isidro, and City Heights in General Santos City, South Cotabato.

Caraga: Barangays Taft in Surigao City, Surigao del Norte; Tambis in Barobol, Surigao del Sur; Don Ruben in San Jose, Dinagat; Baleguian in Jabonga, and Doongan in Butuan, Agusan del Norte; and Taglatawan in Bayugan, Agusan del Sur.

“We will use the results of this survey as a baseline for a more responsive programming against child labor in general and hazardous child labor in particular,” she said.

Baldoz emphasized that even before the conduct of the survey, the government has been focusing on convergence programs in providing services to child laborers and their families, with the DOLE, DSWD, and non-government organizations providing livelihood assistance to parents and DepEd providing alternative learning modes for children.

“Our convergence efforts extend to the removal of children from abject work conditions through the Sagip Batang Manggagawa mechanism, which has resulted to the filing of cases and closure of establishments in cooperation with NGOs and civil society organizations,” Baldoz said.

The labor and employment chief particularly emphasized the DOLE’s scaled-up campaign, the Child-Labor Free Barangay Campaign, which seeks to declare 89 barangays in 16 regions this year as child-labor free.

“In this campaign, we at the DOLE, together with the DSWD and DILG, are working at strengthening the Barangay Councils for the Protection of Children (BCPCs) to transform, initially, some 89 barangays into child labor-free barangays, especially those identified under the government’s “609 focused municipalities”, she said.

She outlined the next steps in the battle against child labor, saying that on the issue of education alongside work, as recommended by the ILO Committee on Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendation, the National Child Labor Committee shall work to resolve the gap between the age of completion of compulsory education and the minimum age for work or admission to employment, which is 15 years old, for us to fully comply with ILO Convention 182. This matter needs legislative amendment and is also being studied by the NCLC.

She also bared that the NCLC, in collaboration with the ILO Manila, will formulate an inter-agency action plan for the period July 2012-June 2016 and to be presented to the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster for its approval and implementation.

One of the features of this plan is the institutionalization of child labor in the NSO’s Labor Force Survey every July-round through addition of child labor-related questions.

Finally, Secretary Baldoz said the DOLE’s strengthened enforcement of labor laws, including the enforcement of the provisions of RA 9231 that

prohibits child labor, sets the child’s working hours, and penalizes violators, will further get a boost with President’s creation of additional 372 labor inspectors who will focus on labor law compliance.

“We have just upped the ante in our fight against child labor and we are prepared for it,” she said.

DOLE Good News

� June 2012

The province of Camiguin, one of Northern Mindanao’s treasured tourist havens and prominent

eco-tourism sites, also believes that waging an all-out drive against the tri-menace of illegal recruitment, human trafficking, and child labor, will boost local employment and workers’ welfare and protection.

And to solidify its support to the Department of Labor and Employment’s nationwide battle against illegal recruitment, human trafficking, and child labor at the community level, the LGU of Camiguin, represented by Governor Jurdin Jesus Romualdo, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding and a Pledge of Support and Commitment to Action towards making the province free from the worst forms of child labor, illegal recruitment, and human trafficking.

Bringing the fight down the grassroots level, the municipal mayors of the province’s five municipalities, namely Mayor Ma. Luisa Romualdo of Mambajao; Mayor Nestor Jacot of Catarman; Mayor Helenio Abecia of Guinsiliban; Mayor Alex Jajalla of Mahinog; and Mayor Eugenio Ong of Sagay, also signed the accords as

Camiguin local government joins DOLE in anti-child labor, anti-illegal recruitment fight

an expression of their support to the DOLE’s campaign.

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, informed by DOLE RO No. 10 Director Johnson Cañete, emphasized the importance of partnering with and capacitating LGUs in the nationwide campaign.

“By empowering all local government officials from municipal mayors down to barangay captains and partnering with them, we are delivering the message that we are serious in our fight,” Baldoz said.

The National Statistics Office’s 2011 Survey on Children showed there are 5.492 million working children 5-17 years old as of October 2011.

Of this number, more than one-half, or 55.1 percent, or 3.028 million, were counted as child labor and 2.993 million (54.5 percent) reported to be exposed to hazardous child labor across the country.

Based on the survey, Region 10 or Northern Mindanao accounts for over 8. 2 percent, or 246,000 working children 5- 17 years old engaged in hazardous labor, particularly in the sugarcane industry and agriculture sector.

Towards sustaining the DOLE’s campaign, Cañete also reported to

Baldoz the re-opening of the DOLE Camiguin Provincial Field Office on the occasion of the signing of the accords, saying this physical presence of the DOLE in the province will ensure that measures are translated into action for workers’ welfare and protection against abuse and exploitation.

Noting that Camiguin has already zero crime rate, the DOLE and LGU’s cooperation to prevent illegal recruitment, trafficking of persons, and child labor will further boost the province’s tourism industry and generate more jobs in the locality.

During the signing, a team from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration led by Deputy Administrator Amuerfina Reyes oriented 72 local partners, composed of mayors, barangay chairmen, law enforcers, and representatives on the illegal recruitment and trafficking in persons provisions of R.A.1022 and of R.A.9208, respectively.

The team also highlighted the POEA’s “Ten Commandments” to avoid an illegal recruiter, which were formulated during the time of Secretary Baldoz as POEA administrator, as well as the overseas employment programs offered by the government.

Also during the event, the DOLE Regional Coordinating Committee-10 (RCC-10), together with OWWA-10 Director Petrona Bergado, conducted a training on t-shirt printing and fashion accessories-making using coco shells for the members of the PAG-ASA OFW Association of Mambajao, They also inspected and validated 18 individual livelihood projects in Catarman and Sagay under the National Reintegration Center for OFWs.

Baldoz expressed hope that more regional offices will follow Camiguin’s suit, and strengthen their team-up with LGUs and partner agencies to ‘liberate’more communities from the perennial problems of illegal recruitment, human trafficking, and child labor.

“In far-flung areas like Camiguin, it is about time that LGUs play a developmental role as key partners in the nationwide drive to stop the proliferation of illegal recruiters and unscrupulous individuals who are engaged in illegal and predatory activities, including fixers, scammers, and traffickers.” Baldoz said.

TOWARDS ‘CHILD LABOR AND ILLEGAL RECRUITMENT FREE CAMIGUIN.’ DOLE Regional Office No. 10 Director Johnson Cañete (4th from right) and Camiguin Governor Jurdin Jesus Romualdo (1st from right) together with other local government executives and partners proudly show their signed pact to boost workers’ welfare in the province.

DOLE Good News

�June 2012

To boost its action in educating high school students on right career choices and in addressing

the perennial problem of jobs and skills mismatch in the SOCCSKARGEN region, the Department of Labor and Employment Regional Office No. 12 had converged with the region’s key players in employment facilitation through a Career Coaching and Employment Facilitation training.

DOLE Region 12 Director Chona Mantilla said the training was intended for the region’s guidance counselors and DOLE partners and was conducted to effect a synergized Career and Employment Coaching (CEC) in the region.

“With another batch of high school graduates this school year, there is a need for the DOLE to double its efforts in guiding the increasing number of soon-to-be workforce entrants. But the DOLE cannot do this alone. It needs the support of partner agencies and the commitment of employment facilitators, especially our guidance counselors,” Dir. Mantilla said.

A total of 74 persons attended the Career Coaching and Employment Facilitation training, mostly Public Employment Service Office staff; guidance counselors; or representatives of government agencies, namely, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); Commission on Higher Education (CHED); Department of Education (DepEd); and DOLE field offices.

Career advocacy training in Region 12 leads convergence with employment facilitation partners towards ‘skills-fit’ careers for students

General Santos City National High School; Notre Dame of Cotabato; Notre Dame of Dadiangas University; St. Alexus College; Cotabato City National High School; University of Southern Mindanao; North Valley College Foundation, Inc.; and Holy Trinity College were the colleges and universities that sent in their guidance counselors or human resource staff to the training.

Almost all the participants play unique and distinctive roles in the implementation of employment facilitation and demand-driven education and training programs and services.

The two-day training, held at the Sydney Hotel in General Santos City, provided a venue for career guidance implementers and players to participate in the holistic crafting and review of the education and training curriculum.

“An updated education and training curriculum is expected to steer students towards right career choices that suit the region’s current and emerging industry and labor market needs,” Mantilla said.

One of the highlights of the training was the discussion about the involvement of the region’s guidance counselors in the integration of CEC in the government’s convergent programs on employment, such as the implementation of the K to 12 Curriculum, development of CHED priority courses, and education on the DOLE’s JobsFit 2020 and Labor Market Information.

The training was also an opportunity to discuss the TESDA’s technical-vocational

courses which Director Mantilla said the guidance counselors can offer to students who are not pursuing tertiary education.

Expressing confidence on CEC as a tool to increase employability and to address the jobs and skills mismatch problem, Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz called for an extensive and continuous execution of career coaching to educate students even at far-flung regions and areas with current labor market demands, signals, and available opportunities that they should anticipate and consider in their choice of career.

“Gone are the days when a guidance counselor’s task is merely disciplinary. Now, it is already developmental as a guidance counselor actively engage himself in the career planning process of his students. They must be able to act as agents of change and convey the significance of choosing the right career towards skills-fit employment in the future,” Baldoz said.

“Career coaching is definitely a powerful method to help bridge the gap between education and the world of work. We do not only link jobseekers to employment opportunities, but we guide them towards appropriate choices of career, training, and education that are compatible with their interests and abilities and with the labor market demand. The synergized effort of our network of guidance counselors and local key players shall make this possible,” Baldoz stressed.

CONVERGENCE IS THE KEY TOWARDS AN EFFECTIVE CAREER ADVOCACY. DOLE Regional Office No. 12 Director Chona Mantilla together with representatives from partner agencies, pose with 74 guidance counselors in SOCCSKARGEN during a break in their training to effect a synergized strategy in bringing the right career coaching and employment facilitation in Region 12.

For many Filipino job seekers, overseas employment is the proverbial passport to greener

pastures abroad. It has been dubbed the ‘ticket to a better life’. But for Elmir Ayaton, it is not. He would rather stay home.

“Naniniwala ako sa kakayahan ng mga OFWs na magnegosyo at makatulong sa sarili nating bansa. Nasa pagsisikap lang yan at sa pagiging maabilidad,” Elmir shared.

This adage drives Elmir, 38, who had worked as a seafarer in Japan for 10 years, to abandon his overseas toil and start a wine-making business. The decision successfully led to the establishment of his Reg en Jo’s Trading, a wine-making company based in Makati City.

As an OFW-tur ned-entrepreneur, Elmir is one of the successful beneficiaries who availed of a loan from the P2 Billion Overseas Filipino Workers Reintegration Program (OFW-RP). From this fund, Elmir loaned the amount of P400,000 which helped him start his wine-making venture.

In only a year since the loan fund was established last 07 June 2011, Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz has reported that said 391 loan applications of 412 OFW beneficiaries have already been approved by the Land Bank of the Philippines, with the loan amount reaching P245,948,063.20.

Citing a report of the National Reintegration Center for OFWs, Baldoz said the various business ventures funded by the loans even generated 1,458 jobs.

“Borrowers from Region 4-A, or the CALABARZON region registered the highest number of generated jobs with 323. The borrowers were mostly engaged in trading business, agri-business, and services. Regions 3 and 5 borrowers followed with 280 and 145 jobs created, respectively, out of the approved loans,” Baldoz said.

The NRCO report showed that overall, 172 OFW borrower-beneficiaries preferred to go into trading business, which includes trading of grains, agricultural and farm inputs, auto and motorcycle parts; and establishing

In only a year of existenceDOLE turns more OFWs into entrepreneurs with the P2-B National Reintegration Program

general merchandise, dry goods, sari-sari and retail stores.

Meanwhile, 78 OFWs opted to venture into agri-businesses, such as hog and duck raising, fishpond and/or fish production, and egg production; while 72 OFWs used their availed loans in starting service businesses such as transport operation, delivery services, water purification, and dressmaking/tailoring.

The rest of the OFW borrowers pursued businesses in franchising,

handicraft, wellness, m a n u f a c t u r i n g , food and beverages, medical/dental, and computers.

Region 4-A topped

181 OFW borrowers, of whom 91 came from Saudi Arabia.

Launched last year during the celebration of the 1st National Congress of Overseas Workers and Families, the OFW-RP aims to support OFWs and their families who plan to put up businesses to maximize the gains of overseas employment, mitigate the social cost of migration, and cushion the impact of forced repatriation.

The loan program is managed by the Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines. It carries an annual rate of 7.5 percent in declining balance with a flexible payment scheme maximum of 5 years and an incentive grace period of two

years. A borrower can borrow a maximum of P2 million.

The P2-bi l l ion National Reintegration Program is in response to the 22-point labor and employment agenda of President Benigno S. Aquino III, specifically Item No. 19, which calls on the DOLE to facilitate the re-integration of returning OFWs by favorable terms of investments, tax incentives, access to government financial institutions, and other benefits that are offered to foreign investors.

Now earning double of his availed loan amount, Elmir, the Samar native, enjoys combining his unwavering hardwork and business acumen as he give his fellow Filipinos a brew of his local fruit wine products.

“Nagpapasalamat ako dahil may ganitong programa ang ating gobyerno.

Nabigyan ako ng pagkakataon na makapag-move. Ngayon na maraming naniniwala sa kalidad ng produkto ko, walang dahilan para itigil ko ito,” Elmir said, enthusiastically.

With high hopes, Elmir is now off to share the advanced knowledge and technology to other OFWs and Filipino hopefuls who want to venture into wine-making, and into business in general.

“Naniniwala din ako na lahat ng OFWs ay may potensyal na umunlad dito sa bansa basta may pagsisikap at may paniniwala sa sariling kakayahan,” Elmir grinned as he ended his story.

the regions with largest borrowers in terms of loan amount, with P55.5 million in loaned amount, followed by Region 3 (P49.3 million); Region 6 (P26 million); Region 5 (P16.5 million); Region 11 (P14.2 million); Region 1 (P14.8 million); and Cordillera Administrative Region (P14.9 million). The rest of the regions have OFWs borrowing over P1 million.

Majority of the borrowers, or 47.01 percent of the total loan beneficiaries, were OFWs from the Middle East with

A TOAST OF SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURSHIP. OFW-turned -entrepreneur Elmir Ayaton is one of the borrower-beneficiaries of the 2B OFW-RP who now reaps the harvest of his feat as a wine-maker.