For ordinary Filipinos, a Public Employment Service Office (PESO) can be considered as simply a “state recruiter,” serving as a bridge between employers and jobseekers.
The Biñan City PESO, however, believes that their duties should go beyond simply offering Biñanenses job placements.
As with other departments of the local government of Biñan City, it was this “above and beyond” philosophy of public service that earned the Biñan City PESO its 10th straight recognition during the National PESO Congress held last October 15.
The Biñan City PESO earned the 2024 National Best PESO for the Independent City and Component City category, underscoring its vital role not just in providing employment opportunities but also, in a sense, becoming a vehicle for the city’s continued economic progress.
So what’s the key for this continuing winning streak?
“Ang aming goal po dito sa Biñan City PESO ay consistency in fulfilling our three core functions: referral placement, labor marketing formation, and career development and support,” Romualdo Garcia, head of the Biñan City PESO, shared in an interview with OpinYon Laguna.
“At hindi po biro ang pinagdadaanan namin sa National PESO Awards, dahil po kailangan naming maabot ang 90-percent and above target para po kami maka-qualify sa nasabing parangal.”
Referral and placement
For instance, Garcia shared, the local PESO has consistently maintained its goal of 5,000 job referrals per year.
“Mataas po ang ating placement rate, which is around 99.5 percent, with regards to referral and placement because of some innovations that we introduced,” he explained.
Aside from coverage in all 24 barangays in Biñan City, the local PESO also offers an easy one-stop-shop jobseekers’ portal through the PESO Biñan mobile application.
The PESO Biñan mobile app, which was introduced at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, enables Biñanenses not only to search their dream job but also find the job that best matches their skills.
“Ang pinakamagandang innovation po kasi na inintroduce namin is the pre-registration of the applicants whom we are referring to the companies so that their skills will be matched with the need of the company, in need of an employee,” Garcia shared.
As a result of their office’s “skills-matching,” some of the applicants who were referred by the Biñan City PESO get hired on the spot, he added.
Mismatch no more
Garcia also said that the Biñan City PESO has gone a long way in resolving a persistent problem inside the Philippines’ labor force: that of “job mismatch,” or the lack of alignment between an applicant’s skills or education and the requirements of their prospective jobs.
“Mayroon po tayong itinatag na tri-partite organization which includes the government, the industry, and the academe. Doon po ay pinag-uusapan namin kung papaano mareresolba yung problema ng job mismatch, sa kanilang level pa lang,” he explained.
One way of solving this is encouraging schools to partner with, and infuse the technical training plans of, the city’s major industries so that their graduates will match the skills needed by the industry.
“This means that automatically wala ng training right after graduation, diretso nang trabaho,” the PESO head added.
Entrepreneurship, employment go hand-in-hand
It should also be mentioned that the Biñan PESO’s own efforts in enabling Biñanenses to gain employment is also complemented by the efforts of other local departments within the local department.
One such department is the Biñan City Business Permit and Licensing Office (PESO), which recently helped the LGU earn the distinction of being the “Most Business-Friendly LGU – City in Level 2 Category” from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).
This is because, as BPLO head Atty. Edward Vange Arriba himself pointed out, encouraging businesses – whether giant multinational industries or micro-entrepreneurs – to invest in Biñan City also helps in generating additional jobs for the city’s residents.
"Simula't sapul po kasi, lagi pong iginigiit ng ating mga lokal na opisyal, from our former Mayor and now Congressman Arman Dimaguila to our present Mayor Gel Alonte, na ang pagiging 'business-friendly' ay hindi patungkol sa grand programs and events," Arriba told OpinYon Laguna.
"Ito po ay nakabase sa isang mindset: isang mindset na dapat ang mga negosyante po natin ay madadalian na makapag-negosyo sa lungsod natin. At kapag nakapasok po sila, dapat maramdaman po nila na katuwang po nila ang LGU. There is a genuine partnership between the local government unit at ang ating local businesses."
Arriba emphasized that the BPLO’s programs, such as easier business processing services and encouraging the so-called “informal economy” to register with the local government, is part of the city’s core belief that business and government should be partners towards a shared goal of economic development.
These combined efforts by the Biñan City PESO and BPLO are instrumental in lowering the city’s poverty rate from 9 percent in 2023 to 6 percent in 2024, the BPLO head emphasized.
“This award is the best testament na kapag nagtulungan ang local government unit at ang private at local businesses, malayo ang mararating. Gone are the days na kinakatakutan ang local government unit ng mga negosyante. Ngayon, iniba natin ang approach. Ang ginawa po nating approach, nakipagtulungan po tayo sa kanila, binigay po natin lahat ng mga kailangan po nila para sila ay lumago bilang negosyante,” he enthused.
This same sentiment is shared by Mayor Gel Alonte, who congratulated the two local departments not only for the awards they received but also for their own contribution to the city’s vibrant, growing economy.
“Ang mga parangal na ito ay patunay na ang lokal na pamahalaan ng Biñan ay may maayos na pamamahala, bukas na pakikipag-ugnayan, at matatag na lokal na ekonomiya,” Alonte said in his Facebook page.
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