MANILA, Philippines - Several government agencies yesterday announced thousands of job openings, two months before the start of the election ban on the hiring or appointment of employees.
The Department of Health intends to hire over 21,000 doctors and other health workers this year.
Mary Ruth Politico, DOH’s planning and standards division medical officer, said they are in need of doctors, nurses, dentists and medical technologists to be deployed in different government-run health facilities nationwide.
Aside from the DOH, other government agencies which reported job openings were the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Transportation and Communications and the Public Private Partnership Center.
The five agencies have partnered with a job-matching online platform to hasten and improve the recruitment and contracting services.
DepEd is looking for lawyers while the DOF is hiring administrative officers.
The other government agencies are in need of engineers, planning officers, information system analysts, economists, financial analysts, information officers, accountants and clerks.
From March 25 until May 8 this year, heads of government agencies are not allowed to hire new workers, promote employees or grant salary increases, according to a resolution of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) dated Dec. 22.
However, the Comelec has exempted several government agencies from the ban on the hiring or transferring of workers during the election season.
Those exempted are the Office of the President, Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan, Court of Tax Appeals and the lower courts, including the Senate and Presidential Electoral Tribunal, Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Other government agencies have to submit a written request in order to be exempted from the ban.
Overseas jobs
Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported that over 100,000 local and overseas jobs are available to jobseekers.
DOLE said vacancies in Philjob.net, the official government job search website, have reached a total of 116,295 as of Jan. 12.
Labor officials noted that the biggest demand is for call center agents, followed by cashiers, service crew and company drivers.
Merchandisers, accounting assistants, electricians, sales clerks and salesmen are also in demand.