DOLE reforms Special Program for Employment of Students

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has opted to reform the implementation of Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) to prevent delays in payment of salaries to student beneficiaries.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said starting this year, the DOLE’s Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) will already implement automated system of SPES.

Baldoz said DOLE developed an information technology system purposely to establish a database of SPES beneficiaries nationwide and facilitate their claims for salaries.

“There is a need for the DOLE to migrate from manual to automation in the registration of SPES beneficiaries, in the processing of SPES claims, and in the production and generation of SPES reports owing to the annual increasing trend of SPES beneficiaries,” Baldoz explained.       

In the last remaining years of the Aquino administration, Baldoz said the DOLE also intends to prioritize the completion of SPES manual of implementation.

The module, Baldoz said, would guide student beneficiaries on learning of soft skills, critical thinking and how to have proper work attitude.

DOLE has long been implementing SPES with the aim of assisting deserving poor students to pursue their education by providing them temporary employment.

Under the program, the student beneficiaries can work during summer or Christmas breaks while those who are taking up vocational courses can avail of the program anytime of the year.

However, there were reports that there were delays in the payment of the students’ salaries.

Citing Commission on Audit (COA) report, a news report (not in the STAR) said that DOLE failed to pay over P82 million to student beneficiaries of SPES.

But Baldoz said the new sreport was erroneous since only over P2 million worth of individuals checks for 988 SPES beneficiaries have became stale due to inadequate documentation.

Baldoz said DOLE regional offices have yet to release the checks because the student beneficiaries were unable to comply with the required documents.

The labor chief also ordered concerned regional directors to submit a report on the actions they have taken regarding the delayed payment.