300 displaced workers benefit from employment program of city, DOLE

By Jocelyn P. Alvarez

ZAMBOANGA CITY - Three hundred displaced and unemployed workers are assured of employment as the City government of Zamboanga through the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) launched on Aug. 2 a five-month employment program.

Public Information Officer-City Mayor’s Office (PIO-CMO) Belen Covarrubias said “the CSWDO’s Aug. 2 launching of the Emergency Employment Projects for Wage Employment and Livelihood Skills Formation (EEPWELSF) officially marked the start of the project in the city.

She revealed that some 60 persons composing the first batch of beneficiaries already had their orientation immediately after the Aug. 2 project launching.

Four more batches with 60 beneficiaries per batch are up for another round of orientation within the project’s five-month timeline, Covarrubias explained.

She said the employment project will focus primarily on providing displaced workers with emergency employment for a 30-day work period.

Series of Livelihood Skills Formation for self-employment assistance will also be conducted by the CSWDO to complement the EEPWELSF project.

In 2012, approximately 500 displaced and unemployed workers were recorded in the City. (PIA9)