The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is looking to institutionalize the remaining 60 percent of established Public Employment Service Offices (PESO) in the country.

The measure is contained in the memorandum of agreement signed by Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. and the Public Employment Service Office Managers Association of the Philippines (PESOMAP) president Luningning Vergara at the DOLE main office in Manila on Feb. 20, the DOLE said in a news release Thursday.

Under the agreement, the DOLE will collaborate with the DILG and PESOMAP in providing capacity development activities towards PESO institutionalization.

It shall also set standards for the establishment and operation of PESO and identify the roles, duties and responsibilities of PESO personnel in coordination with the concerned local government unit, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Department of Budget and Management.

The DOLE shall conduct periodic monitoring and reporting of the local government unit’s PESO appointments to ensure compliance with the PESO qualification standards outlined in the CSC Memorandum Circular No. 20, series of 2019.

It shall also monitor and evaluate the performance of the PESOs through the PESO Employment Information System and other relevant monitoring and reporting platforms and provide feedback to the local chief executives.

Meanwhile, the DILG shall provide guidelines to the local government units on the establishment, operation and institutionalization of the PESOs.

It shall also urge the institutionalization of PESOs in their respective local government units under the Social Protection and Sensitivity governance area of the Seal of Good Local Governance and assist the local government units and their PESOs in promoting employment within their jurisdiction.

The PESOMAP was tasked to enjoin their member PESOs to push for the institutionalization of their respective offices and mentor them on the process of institutionalization and in providing employment facilitation services.

They shall also submit reports to the DOLE and DILG particularly on policy, resource and training interventions needed by the various PESOs under their jurisdiction.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma reported that only 40 percent of the 1,592 established PESOs nationwide are institutionalized.

Laguesma said the establishment of institutionalized PESOs in every locality is paramount to realizing the Philippine Labor and Employment Plan (PLEP) 2023-2028, particularly in expanding access to employment and work opportunities for the Filipino workforce.

“The DOLE firmly believes that permanent PESOs complemented by qualified managers will expedite the delivery of comprehensive employment facilitation services in the labor market. More importantly, institutionalized PESOs ensure and guarantee continuity and sustainability of public service delivery,” he added.

For his part, Abalos said PESOs must be institutionalized and established in every local government unit nationwide to sustain the Marcos administration’s economic gains.

Abalos said that under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s guidance and direction, the country’s 3.1 percent unemployment rate in December 2023 is at its lowest in nearly 20 years, and the Philippine economy grew by 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.

“We, therefore, need to ensure that these positive gains are sustained and further improved for the benefit of our people. And today’s signing pushing for PESO institutionalization is a step towards that direction,” he said. (PNA)