SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines – At least P8.7 million has been allotted by the provincial government of Pampanga as counterpart fund for the Special Program for Employment of Student (SPES) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
Gov. Lilia Pineda said the Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved the amount to help SPES beneficiaries, who are poor but deserving students.
The amount will be used to pay for the salaries of SPES beneficiaries who will be hired to serve in the local government as temporary workers.
The local government will shoulder 60 percent of the beneficiaries’ salaries, while the remaining amount will be paid by DOLE.
The provincial government has 1,916 SPES beneficiaries and 843 of them have received their salaries.
SPES beneficiaries receive P7,600 each for 20 days’ work.
They were assigned to different municipalities, where they served as tax mappers, survey personnel, encoders, school assistants, food service crew, gasoline attendants, and promotion merchandizers.
The remaining 1,073 student-beneficiaries will receive their salaries in the coming months.