MMDA to hire 450 students, out-of-school youth for summer work

MANILA, Philippines - Some 450 students and out-of-school youth will be hired as summer interns by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) under the government’s Special Program for the Education of Students (SPES).

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said SPES is aimed at giving poor but deserving youth - between the ages of 17 and 25 - a learning experience in government service.

“SPES is an opportunity for our youths to learn what it is like working in public service and at the same time provide them with financial means to continue their education,” Tolentino said.

Mandated under Republic Act No. 9547 (An Act To Help Poor But Deserving Students Pursue Their Education By Encouraging Their Employment During Summer and/or Christmas Vacations), SPES is being administered by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and aims to provide beneficiaries with an opportunity to earn money for their tuition and other needs.

The SPES for this year will begin on April 13 and will run for one month, DOLE said.

Under the SPES, the MMDA will assign the interns to perform tasks at the various MMDA offices such as the Office of the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, General Manager; the Office of the Assistant General Manager for Planning (OAGMP),  Office of the Assistant General Manager for Operation (OAGMO) and the  Traffic Discipline Office (TDO).

“We are doing this because we want young people to learn how to appreciate what MMDA has done and is doing,” said Tolentino.

The applicants were chosen after they submitted their requirements, including a duly accomplished application form, a copy of his birth certificate or proof of birth, certification by his school registrar as to last enrolment and average grade, copy of latest income tax returns of their parents and for the out-of-school youth, a certificate of good moral character from the chair of their barangay.

The students will be working for one month which equivalent to 22 working days under the said program while receiving a salary wage not lower than the applicable minimum wage for private employers or the applicable hiring rate for the national or local government agencies.

The MMDA provides for 60 percent of the SPES interns' salaries with DOLE shouldering the remaining 40 percent. Last year, the MMDA hired 300 summer interns under SPES.