Pasay gets employment priority at SM Mall of Asia

The Pasay City government said yesterday city residents will be given priority in the ongoing job hiring for the soon-to-open SM Mall of Asia located at the Bay City area on Roxas Boulevard.

Greg Alcera, head of the city’s Public Employment and Services Office (PESO), said an ordinance passed by the City Council provides that at least 60 percent of applicants to be given employment at the newly-constructed mall should come from Pasay City.

"We would want to help first and foremost, the unemployed residents in the city. In fact, we will develop a networking system wherein jobless residents and their specific skills or expertise are to be recorded by our office and that we would be the one to get in touch with them regarding job openings," Alcera explained.

He likewise said jobs in construction now require applicants, with at least 70 percent coming from Pasay. This includes hiring of masons, plumbers, welders, carpenters, among others.

Alcera said they are targeting a total of 9,000 jobs to be generated with the opening of the SM Mall of Asia.

"Out of that 9,000 job opportunities, around 5,000 have actually been filled up."

Earlier, the Pasay City Treasurer’s Office authorized the holding of a one-stop-shop for business license processing inside the commercial complex. Pasay City Treasurer Ofelia Oliva said they set up the one-stop-shop to fully serve the hundreds of tenants putting up new businesses at the mall.

Sitting on a three-hectare lot, the SM Mall of Asia is considered the biggest mall not only in the country, but in all of Asia.

The formal opening is set on the first week of May. – Rhodina Villanueva