SOCIAL welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian yesterday said jobs fairs would be held weekly, if not monthly, in different parts of the country to help beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) find work to enable them to support their families especially after they graduate from the program.
Gatchalian, during the “Trabaho at Serbisyong Pangkalusugan sa Bagong Pilipinas para sa Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)” job fair in Biñan City in Laguna on Saturday, said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. knows that while it is important to provide immediate cash subsidies, it is equally important to provide beneficiaries with jobs that would enable them to become self-sufficient.
“Kaya nga inatasan kami ng aming pangulo, ng DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment), na masigurado na mahanapan ng trabaho ang mga 4Ps beneficiaries [That’s why the president directed us, along with DOLE, to ensure that we find jobs for the 4Ps beneficiaries],” he said.
“Buwan buwan, linggo, linggo, may mga job fair na idinadaos para sa mga 4Ps beneficiaries natin sa buong bansa (We will hold monthly, weekly, job fairs for our 4Ps beneficiaries nationwide),” he added.
Marcos personally visited the 4Ps jobs fair in Laguna on Saturday afternoon and assured the members that his administration is looking for ways to help uplift the lives of the Filipinos, especially the underprivileged, and help them achieve self-sufficiency.
The jobs fair is a nationwide initiative led by the Office of the President (OP) in partnership with the DSWD, DOLE, Department of Health (DOH), and Department of Agriculture (DA).
A total of 26 companies invited by the DOLE offered 6,502 positions for 4Ps job-seekers, while more than 2,000 4Ps beneficiaries from Laguna participated in the event.
The 4Ps job seekers received P3,000 cash assistance under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program to help them secure their pre-employment requirements.
Meanwhile, in Davao City, mayoralty candidate Karlo Nograles called for the establishment of more community day care centers in the city to increase employment opportunities for women.
Nograles said Davao City could help unlock more income opportunities for families by providing more childcare facilities and services at the community level, as the time spent on tending to the household could instead be diverted towards earning money.
“We should not neglect our working mothers. It is easier for families to overcome poverty if they can rely on more sources of income instead of having a sole breadwinner,” he said.
“If Davao has more government-funded community day care centers, stay-at-home mothers can explore joining the workforce knowing that their children are cared for in a safe and secure environment,” he also said.
He added that having day care centers would allow mothers to work or use the time to further their studies or undergo training.
Citing a 2021 National Household Care Survey conducted by Oxfam International, Nograles said Filipino women spend up to 13 hours a day on unpaid care work, compared to only eight hours for men.
