In 1999, my second year as Governor of North Cotabato, I designed an employment generation program called Jobs for Economic Enhancement Program (JEEP) which succeeded in fielding hundreds of young workers abroad.
At that time, I was faced with the huge problem of high unemployment rate among young people and fresh graduates which was a result of the unstable peace and order conditions in the province.
There was only one option left for me – find jobs for the young people of North Cotabato in places outside the province
The JEEP was later hailed by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) as a model Jobs Program because it covered all issues faced by applicants for foreign jobs then.
Noong mga panahon na yon, hirap mag apply ng trabaho abroad kasi naniningil ang agencies ng Placement Fees of up to about P100,000 for lucrative jobs.
Marami din ang biktima ng illegal recruitment at mga scams.
Hirap din ang mga applicants kasi kailangan pa nila pumunta ng Manila to apply for jobs and to accomplish all documents needed for employment.
That was when I reached out to a relative, then Labor Undersecretary Arturo Sodusta, and a fraternity brother, then Foreign Affairs Asst. Secretary Bahnarim Guinomla who later became Ambassador, and sought their help.
I asked them to bring their agency’s services to the provincial capitol – the DFA to conduct passporting and the DOLE to bring legitimate employment agencies to conduct screening and interviews.
Other agencies of government, like the Statistics Office and the Social Welfare Department, were brought in to assist in other issues such as discrepancies in the birth certificates and social orientation.
To complete the program, the provincial government of North Cotabato allocated P20-M to be loaned out to applicants who qualified but did not have the money to pay for placement fees.
The qualified applicants were required to open checking accounts with the Land Bank of the Philippines and submitted post-dated checks to the provincial treasurer as guaranteee for their loans.
The loan was interest-free and the repayment started three months after they arrived in their work destinations.
The JEEP fielded hundreds of young people abroad and all of them, except those who returned home because they got sick, repaid their loans.
The program was hailed by DOLE as a Model in LGU-initiated Jobs Program and was replicated in other parts of the country.
Today, many of the young people we sent abroad who were guided, supported and protected by the provincial government have returned home to the province where they live a happy life with their families.
This is one program which I am proud to claim as one of the many innovations in governance which I initiated when I was Governor and which I continued as Secretary of Agriculture until the my last day in public service as Chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA).
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Thank You, Jun!