The city government here has tapped some 400 students and out-of-school-youths for this year’s Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) starting Friday.

Diosdado Rañeses, manager of the city’s Public Employment Service Office (PESO), said the students will render services, not in different city offices, but by doing urban gardening in their respective residences for 20 days.

“It is one way to serve as a training for the youth-students to learn the importance of gardening, edible landscaping, among others,” he said in an interview on Friday.

Rañeses said youth beneficiaries cannot be accommodated in the city hall office as one way of preventing the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) amid increasing cases.

“As a strategy to still continue the program and instead of letting them clean their barangays like the Department of Labor and Employment-Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (DOLE-TUPAD) beneficiaries, I suggested that they’ll do the urban gardening also as a method for them to appreciate agriculture farming. And it was duly approved by the regional director of DOLE,” he said.

On day one of their deployment, qualified students attended an orientation conducted by Legazpi City PESO, City Veterinary Office, and City Agriculture Office with the DOLE regional office representative to provide the guidelines and rules.

Those under the program will receive a salary of about PHP10,000, of which 60 percent or PHP6,000 will be paid by the city while the remaining 40 percent or PHP4,000 will be released by the DOLE.

The beneficiaries are youths between 15 to 30 years old who are in school, as well as out-of-school youths who want to earn money for enrolment.

Rañeses added the beneficiaries will need to submit photo documentation as proof of their work for 20 days.

Based on Legazpi City PESO records, SPES beneficiaries last year only reached 150. (PNA)